The growth of phenanthrene from naphthalene by C2H2 additions

摘要

Two paths are investigated for the growth of phenanthrene from naphthalene by the addition of C2H2 groups. The first series of steps leads to acenaphthylene (ACN), which is consistent with the path found previously. The addition of C2H2 to ACN can yield a product with two adjacent five-membered rings. Opening one five-membered ring produces a five-membered ring with CH2 side group. This can be converted to a six-membered ring in a manner analogous to the hydrogen atom catalysed fulvene to benzene conversion. A second path, with a somewhat higher barrier, can also lead to the phenanthrene product. The transition state for the second path is essentially isoenergetic with the stating material of ACN + C2H2 + H.