One‐Step Construction of 9,10‐Diarylphenanthrenes Using Solid Calcium Carbide as an Alternative of Gaseous Acetylene

A convenient method for the construction of 9,10‐diarylphenanthrenes through one‐pot multicomponent reactions of iodoarenes, o‐bromobenzoic acids, and calcium carbide is described. A series of target compounds are efficiently synthesized via Csp2−H activation and the simultaneous construction of five C−C bonds. The salient features of this method are the use of inexpensive and easy‐to‐handle solid alkyne source as an alternative of flammable and explosive gaseous acetylene. Meanwhile the use of commercially available substrates, wide functional tolerance, and simple workup procedure are also advantage of this protocol. In addition, the corresponding products can also be synthesized on gram scale.