Taming of superacids: PVP-triflic acid as an effective solid triflic acid equivalent for Friedel–Crafts hydroxyalkylation and acylation

Tunable Aryl Imidazolium Recyclable Ionic Liquid with Dual Brønsted-Lewis Acid as Green Catalyst for Friedel-Crafts Acylation and Thioesterification

Unique tunable aryl imidazolium ionic liquids successfully catalyzed Friedel-Crafts acylation and thioesterification in sealed tubes. These reactions can form a C-C bond and a C-S bond with high atom economy. Ionic liquids exhibited high activity and catalyzed essential reactions with good to excellent yields while retaining their catalytic activities for recycling.

The mechanisms of isobutene hydration yielding tert-butanol catalyzed by a strong mineral acid (H2SO4) and Lewis-Brønsted superacid (HF/SbF5)

The mechanism of the (CH₃)₂CCH₂+H₂O→(CH₃)₃COH reaction catalyzed by two strong acids (H₂SO₄ and HSbF₆) was investigated theoretically using the ab initio MP2 and CCSD(T) methods and the aug-cc-pVDZ/LANL2DZ and aug-cc-pVTZ/LANL2DZ basis sets. The effects of surrounding solvent molecules were approximated by employing the polarized continuum solvation model. The most important findings include the observation that both acids are capable of catalyzing isobutene hydration but the reaction is predicted to proceed faster when the HSbF₆ superacid plays the catalyst role.

Intramolecular Friedel-Crafts Acylation Reaction Promoted by 1,1,1,3,3,3-Hexafluoro-2-propanol

Simple dissolution of an arylalkyl acid chloride in 1,1,1,3,3,3-hexafluoro-2-propanol promotes an intramolecular Friedel-Crafts acylation without additional catalysts or reagents. This reaction is operationally trivial in both execution and product isolation (only requiring concentration followed by purification) and accommodates a broad range of substrates. Preliminary studies that bear upon potential reaction mechanisms are reported.