Manganese(III) Acetate-Mediated Cyclization of Diarylmethylenecyclopropa[b]naphthalenes: A Method for the Synthesis of 1,2-Benzanthracene Derivatives

The manganese(III) acetate-mediated free radical cyclization of diarylmethylenecyclopropa[b] naphthalenes with nucleophiles such as carboxylic acid and sulfonic acid provides an efficient method for the synthesis of 1,2-benzanthracenes in moderate to good yields under mild conditions. In addition, after several steps of simple and routine operations, the obtained 1,2-benzanthracenes bearing an acetoxy group could be easily converted to structurally more sophisticated 1,2-benzanthracene derivatives, which are not easily accessible yet potentially useful candidates for materials science.