A facile route to the l, &diarylnaphthalene derivatives is described. The parent compound, l,% diphenylnaphthalene, can be prepared in two steps with 35% overall yield from the commercial 1, 8-diaminonaphthalene. The key step in these preparations is the direct joining of two nonequivalent aromatic molecules by an organonickel-catalyzed Grignard-aryl halide coupling reaction at-15 OC. The coupling reaction is regiospecific with respect to ...
