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Herein, we report a new method for synthesis of extended perylenes and terrylenes. The technique is based on the cascade dehydrative π-extensions (DPEX) of aryl aldehydes, in which stepwise annulations activate previously "dormant" substituents. Two- and fourfold cyclizations of 3-aryl-biphenyl-2,2'-dicarbaldehydes offer a rapid path to unsymmetrical perylenes and elusive terrylene derivatives, respectively. DPEX of 3,3''-(phenanthrene-1,8-diyl)bis (([1,1'-biphenyl]-2,2'-dicarbaldehyde)) leads to the biradical structure, which proceeds in situ into oxidative electrocyclization at room temperature. The described domino process complements and expands DPEX approach to a large family of fused acenes and related PAHs.

A novel catalyst‐free approach to benzoannulated oxygen‐containing heterocycles from fluorinated oligophenylenes is reported. Unlike existing methods, the presented reaction does not require an oxygen‐containing precursor and relies on an external oxygen source, potassium tert‐butoxide, which serves as an O2− synthon. The radical nature of the reaction facilitates nucleophilic substitution even in the presence of strong electron‐donating groups and enables de‐tert‐butylation required for the complete annulation. Also demonstrated is the applicability of the method to introduce five‐, six‐, and seven‐membered rings containing oxygen, whereas multiple annulations also open up a short synthetic path to ladder‐type O‐heteroacenes and oligodibenzofurans., O‐heteroacenes are now available by a one‐step LOOP reaction by SET‐induced SNAr‐radical de‐tert‐butylation‐SNAr. tBuOK serves as a reliable oxygen atom source and O2− synthon, enabling synthesis of dibenzofuran, benzoxanthenes, and benzooxepines, and a range of longer ladder‐type O‐heteroacenes from fluorinated oligophenylenes.

Alumina‐mediated CF activation (AmCFA) is an established method to generate incipient phenyl cation (IPC) through polarization of C(aryl)F bonds. Herein, it is reported that AmCFA can be used to induce intramolecular arylation of aryl alkynes containing one, two, and three triple bonds. During the reaction, a single formally eliminated hydrogen fluoride (HF) leads to the formation of two, three, and four CC bonds, respectively. Thus, the transformation gives rapid access to π‐extension and serves as an interesting example of solid‐state rational domino annulation enabling the bottom‐up construction of nanographenes.

Large polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) containing pentagons represent an important class of compounds that are considered to be superior materials in future nano-electronic applications. From this perspective, the development of synthetic approaches to large PAHs and nanographenes (NGs) is a matter of great importance. In this context indenoannulation appears to be the most practical way to introduce pentagons into NGs. Here we report that alumina-mediated C-F bond activation is an attractive tool for the synthesis of non-alternant NGs bearing several pentagons. The unique nature of the reaction leads to a rather counter-intuitive outcome and allows considering each previous aryl-aryl coupling as a promoter of the following one, despite the continuous increase in the strain energy. Thus, the presented strategy combines both facile synthesis and significant yields for large nonalternant PAHs and NGs.

The first experimental evidence that fullerenes react with alkali-metal trichloroacetates through a nucleophilic addition-substitution route, yielding dichloromethylenefullerenes as the final products, is reported. The intermediates, C60 (CCl3 )(-) and C70 (CCl3 )(-) anions, have been isolated in their protonated forms as ortho-C60 (CCl3 )H, as well as three ortho and one para isomer of C70 (CCl3 )H. The structures were unambiguously determined by means of (1) H, (13) C, and (1) H-(13) C HMBC NMR spectroscopy along with UV/Vis spectroscopy. The observed regiochemistry was analyzed with the aid of quantum chemical calculations. Conversion of the protonated compounds into the [6,6]-closed C60/70 (CCl2 ) cycloadducts under basic conditions can be effected only for the ortho isomers, whereas para-C70 (CCl3 )H decomposes back into pristine C70 .