9,10-Di(1-naphthyl)anthracene

General procedure: A 10-mL test tube equipped with a magnetic stirring bar and a cap was charged with9, 10-diphenyl-9, 10-epoxyanthracene (3a) (102 mg, 295 mumol), wet dichloromethane (600muL), triethylsilane (71.9 muL, 450 mumol), and trifluoroacetic acid (26.7 muL, 360 mumol). Themixture was stirred for 30 min, after which time TLC (hexanes-ethyl acetate = 3:1) indicatedcomplete consumption of 9, 10-diphenyl-9, 10-epoxyanthracene (3a). The reaction wasquenched with H2O and the aqueous layer was extracted with dichloromethane three times.The combined organic extracts were successively washed with saturated aqueous NaHCO3and brine, dried over anhydrous Na2SO4, and filtered. The organic solvents were removedunder reduced pressure to give a crude anthracene, which was purified by flash silica gelcolumn chromatography (hexanes-dichloromethane = 4:1) to afford 4a (91.4 mg, 277 mumol, 94%) as a pale yellow solid. Rf = 0.73 (hexanes-ethyl acetate = 3:1). The spectrum data of 4awere in complete agreement with those reported in the literature.5