Platinum-catalyzed chemoselectively hydrative dimerization of 2-alkynyl-1-acetylbenzenes for one-pot facile synthesis of chrysene derivatives.

We report one-pot syntheses of chrysene compounds via PtCl2-catalyzed hydrative dimerization of readily available 2-alkynyl-1-acetylbenzenes. This new tandem catalysis comprises an initial selective hydration of the alkyne, followed by chemoselective dimerization of diketone intermediates. The mechanism of this cyclization has been elucidated by 13C labeling experiments as well as isolation of reaction intermediates.