One-pot Solvent-free Catalytic Dimerization Reaction of Phenylacetylene to 1-Phenylnaphthalene

In this study, we report a smooth one-pot, solvent-free catalytic dimerization of phenylacetylene (1) to 1-phenylnaphthalene (2) by Cu/C at room temperature in good yield (∼100%). In the computational study, the structure of the 1-phenylnaphthalene was optimized by DFT-B3LYP/6-31G* method. The rotation barrier around C-C of the phenyl and naphthalene parts of the molecule and its UV-Visible spectrum were calculated. The modelling of the mechanism of production of 2 from 1 was performed with and without Cu/C catalyst. The data of EDS and SEM of the Cu/C catalyst surface are also reported.