1‐(Methylamino)anthracene – An Accessible Building Block for Photoresponsive Compounds

In this paper we present a convenient and scalable synthesis of 1‐(methylamino)anthracene, which is a potent building block for the construction of photoresponsive materials. With this structural motif we have synthesized an anion receptor bearing two anthracene groups. Interaction of a chloride anion with the anthracene moieties increases the association constant. Photocycloaddition allows to obtain a single macrocyclic receptor, which exhibits higher binding constants due to the macrocyclic effect.