9,10-Dibromoanthracene

Description

9,10-Dibromoanthracene is an aryl dihalide that until recently had no noteworthy properties or uses. It was first synthesized in 1923 by Ian (formerly Isidor) M. Heilbron and John S. Heaton, chemists working at the University of Liverpool. The molecule forms an addition compound with the explosive 1,3,5-trinitrobenzene.
But early this year, Leo Gross and colleagues at IBM Research Zurich and the University of Santiago de Compostela (Spain) used 9,10-dibromoanthracene to demonstrate that?a chemical reaction can be observed at the molecular level. They combined scanning tunneling microscopy (STM) and atomic force microscopy to watch voltage pulses from an STM probe break one C–Br bond to form a free radical and then the second bond to form a diradical. Another pulse converted the diradical to a bicyclic diene–diyne.
The researchers also showed that their procedure can be used to reverse the last reaction to re-form the diradical. Chemists who study reaction intermediates hail this study as a breakthrough for directly observing chemical bonding changes in a reaction.

The Uses of 9,10-Dibromoanthracene

9,10-Dibromoanthracene is a dibrominated polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH). 9,10-Dibromoanthracene is often used as an energy acceptor and activator in reactions that produce chemiluminescence.