An Expedient Route to 9-Arylmethylanthracene Derivatives via Tandem Ni-Catalyzed Alkene Dicarbofunctionalization and Acid-Promoted Cyclization-Aromatization

We report a nickel-catalyzed one pot synthesis of 9-arylmethylanthracene motifs, which find applications in medicinal and material chemistry. In this synthesis, we apply three component alkene dicarbofunctionalization of 2-vinylaldimines with aryl iodides and arylzinc reagent to generate a 1,1,2-diarylethyl scaffold, which then undergoes an acid-promoted cyclization followed by aromatization to furnish 9-arylmethylanthracene cores. With the new method, a number of differently-substituted 9-arylmethylanthracene derivatives can be synthesized in good yields.