A mild synthesis of a series of phenanthrenes with different substituents on the phenanthrene ring is described. The method involves intramolecular oxidative coupling of a variety of 1, 2-diarylethylene derivatives in the presence of m-chloroperoxybenzoic acid (m- CPBA) in trifluoroacetic acid (TFA) to yield phenanthrenes in high yields. The present approach solves a key step for the synthesis of polycyclic structures related to an alkaloid ...
