## 3 Results  
### Synthesis  
The acetylated diboronic anthracenes were prepared according to the synthetic routes shown in Scheme 1. The detailed synthetic procedure is described below. 1.1 4,4,5,5-Tetramethyl-2-(2-methyl-4-(trifluoromethylomethyl)phenyl)-1,3,2-dioxoborolane (Compound **1**)  
Compounds of 1-bromo-2-methyl-4-(trifluoromethylomethyl) benzene (20.00 g, 0.084 mol), 4,4,4',5,5,5',5'-octamethyl-2,2'-bis(1,3,2-dioxoborolane) (42.5 g, 0.167 mol), potassium acetate (32.85 g, 0.335 mol), and [1,1'bis(diphenylphosphino)]ferrocene]dichloropalladium(II) (6.12 g, 0.0084 mol) in 600 mL of dioxane were stirred at 100 \({}^{\circ}\)C for 1 h. After the solution was cooled to room temperature, 600 mL of DI water was added into the mixture, and the mixture was extracted using methylene chloride (600 mL). The organic layer of the mixture was separated and dried over anhydrous magnesium sulfate. The dried compound was stirred in 500 mL of hexane for 0.5 h until the formation of precipitation. Oily compound **1** (21.5 g, 89.9%) was obtained after the formed precipitate was filtered off and purified using silica gel chromatography with dichloromethane/hexane (1:8, \(v/v\)) as the eluent (1'H NMR (400 MHz, chloroform-d): \(\delta\) 7.88(d, 1H), 7.43-7.41(m, 2H), 2.61(s, 3H), and 1.38(s, 12H)). 3.1.2. 2-(2-(Bromomethyl)-4-(trifluoromethylomethyl)phenyl)-4,4,5,5-tetramethyl-1,3,2-dioxoborolane (Compound **2**)  
4,4,5,5-tetramethyl-2-(2-methyl-4-(trifluoromethylomethyl)phenyl)-1,3,2-dioxoborolane (21.5 g, 0.075 mol) and N-bromosuccinimide (NBS) (14.7 g, 0.083 mol) were dissolved in 390 mL of 1,2-dichloroethane, and 2,2-azobisisobutyronitrile (AIBN) (1.23 g, 0.075 mol) was added into the mixture and stirred at 80 \({}^{\circ}\)C for 3 h before the mixture was allowed to cool to RT, followed by filtration. After removal of the solvent under reduced pressure, the mixture was stirred in 200 mL of hexane for 0.5 h. Yellow oily compound **2** was obtained after evaporating the solvent of the filtered-off precipitate under a vacuum (yield (29.00 g, 10.6%); \({}^{1}\)H NMR (400 MHz, chloroform-d): 8 7.93(d, 1H), 7.63(s, 1H), 7.52(d, 1H), 4.92(s, 2H), and 1.39(s, 12H)). 3.1.3. 2-Acetyl-9,10-dimethylanthracene (Compound **3**)  
9,10-dimethylanthracene (20.0 g, 0.1 mol) was dissolved in methylene chloride (600 mL). Acetyl chloride (0.4 g, 0.12 mol) and 18.8 g (0.149 mol) of aluminum chloride were added into the mixture and stirred at 0-5 \({}^{\circ}\)C. After 5 h of additional stirring at RT and refluxing for 1 h, the mixture was allowed to cool to RT. Then, 1 kg of ice and 50 mL of hydrochloric acid were added into the reaction mixture. The mixture was extracted with methylene chloride and water. After removal of the solvent under reduced pressure, the product was purified using silica gel chromatography with ethyl acetate/hexane (1:10, \(v/v\)) as the eluent. Compound **3** was obtained as a yellow powder in 56.5% yield (14.0 g); \({}^{1}\)H NMR (400 MHz, chloroform-d): 8 9.00(m, 7H), 3.15(d, 6H), and 2.80(s, 3H). 3.1.4. 2-Acetyl-9,10-bis(bromomethyl)anthracene (Compound **4**)  
2-acetyl-9,10-dimethylanthracene (14.0 g, 0.056 mol) was dissolved in 1,2-dichloroethane (300 mL). After the complete addition of N-bromosuccinimide (22.1 g, 0.124 mol), the reaction solution was stirred for 1 h at 85 \({}^{\circ}\)C. The reaction mixture was allowed to cool to RT, and the solvent was evaporated under reduced pressure. After the mixture was stirred in 150 mL of methanol for 0.5 h, the precipitate was filtered, washed with methanol, and dried under a vacuum at 40 \({}^{\circ}\)C for 12 h. The obtained compound (compound **4**) was a bright yellow powder (yield: 7.7 g, 33.6%; \({}^{1}\)H NMR (400 MHz, chloroform-d): 8 9.00-7.50(m, 7H), 5.50(d, 4H), and 2.80(s, 3H)). 3.1.5.