Diels–Alder cycloaddition of acetylene gas to a polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon bay region† Eric H. Fort,a Matthew S. Jeffreysa and Lawrence T. Scott*a Author affiliations * Corresponding authors a Merkert Chemistry Center, Department of Chemistry, Boston College, Chestnut Hill, MA 02467-3860, USA E-mail: lawrence.scott@bc.edu Fax: 617-552-6454 Tel: 617-552-8024 Abstract The direct conversion of a polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon bay region to a new, unsubstituted benzene ring by Diels–Alder cycloaddition of acetylene gas is reported for the first time. At 140 °C in dimethylformamide, under 1.8 atm pressure of acetylene gas, 7,14-dimesitylbisanthene is slowly converted to 7,14-dimesitylbenzo[ghi]bisanthene (21% conversion in 48 h). This article is part of the themed collection: Aromaticity You have access to this article Please wait while we load your content... Something went wrong. Try again?