Reactions of perfluorinated 1-phenyl-, 1-(2-ethylphenyl)-, 1-(4-ethylphenyl)-, 1-methyl-2-phenyl-, and 1-ethyl-2-phenyl-1,2-dihydrocyclobutabenzenes with iodine in antimony pentafluoride at 130°C, followed by hydroysis of the reaction mixture, resulted in the formation of perfluorinated 2-methyl-, 2-ethyl-2′-methyl-, 4-ethyl-2′-methyl-, 2-ethyl-, and 2-propylbenzophenones via opening of the four-membered ring in the initial cyclobutabenzene at the C 1 -C 2 bond. The presence of hydrogen fluoride facilitates the process and promotes profound transformations leading to anthracene derivatives.We previously showed that dimerization of perfluoro(1,2-dihydrocyclobutabenzene) (I) in SbF 5 and reactions of compound I, perfluoro(1-methyl-1,2-dihydrocyclobutabenzene) (II), and perfluoro(1-ethyl-1,2-dihydrocyclobutabenzene) (III) with Br 2 or HF in the presence of SbF 5 involve opening of the four-membered ring at the C arom -C 2 bond with formation of the corresponding 2-X-perfluoro(alkylbenzenes) [X = perfluoro(1,2-dihydrocyclobutabenzen-1-yl, Br, H] [1-3]. In contrast, opening of the four-membered ring in compound I in the system I 2 -SbF 5 occurs at both C arom -C 2 and C 1 -C 2 bonds, leading to 1,2,3,4-tetrafluoro-5-iodo-6-(perfluoroethyl)benzene together with perfluoro(o-xylene) (IV) [4]. However, no iodo derivatives were formed in analogous reactions of cyclobutabenzenes II and III, and the major products were the corresponding perfluoro(1,2-dialkylbenzenes) [5].With a view to elucidate how the nature of perfluorinated substituents in the four-membered ring of perfluorinated 1,2-dihydrocyclobutabenzenes affects