Published online by Cambridge University Press: 14 February 2012
α-Truxillic acid (1, R = CO2H) (Criegee and Höver 1960) underwent the Arndt-Eistert reaction to yield l,3-diphenylcyclobutane-2,4-diacetic acid (1, R = CH2·CO2H), cyclisation of which with hydrogen fluoride gave cis-trans-cis-5,6,6a,6b, 11,12,12a, 12b-octahydro-5,11-dioxodibenzo[a,g]biphenylene (11). Attempts to aromatise the compound by bromination with N-bromosuccinimide followed by treatment with pyridine or potassium acetate were unsuccessful. The ketone was therefore reduced with potassium borohydride to the corresponding diol (11, CO replaced by CHOH) in the hope that dehydration of the product followed by mild dehydrogenation would yield dibenzo[a,g]biphenylene, but the only product isolated was naphthalene.