&Methyl-, 5, 7-dimethyl-, and 5, 7-diphenyl-substituted and unsubstituted 5H-dibenz [c, e] azepines were prepared by two general routes from [l, l'-biphenyl]-2, 2'-dicarboxaldehyde. The unsubstituted dibenzazepine was converted into la, 9b-dihydrophenanthro [9, lO-b] azirine both by lithium diisopropylamide (LDA) and by UV irradiation. The disubstituted azepine derivatives failed, however, to undergo valence isomerization under such ...