One‐Pot Condensation of 2‐ and 2,5‐Halo‐Substituted Benzophenones for the Synthesis of Halo‐Substituted 9,10‐Diphenylanthracenes

Breaking the expectations: Halo-substituted 9,10-diphenylanthracenes were synthesized by a facile method from 2- or 2,5-halo-substituted benzophenones in moderate yields by a one-pot condensation reaction in the presence of TiCl4 and zinc dust. This method is a special case of the McMurry reaction in which the expected tetraphenylethene derivatives are not formed.