Friedel-Crafts type reactions mechanistic studies

Owing to its powerful Lewis acidity, BF3 is an effective reagent in organic synthesis, for example, promoting the conversion of alcohols and acids to esters, the polymerization of olefins and olefin oxides, and acylations and alkylations (in a manner similar to Friedel-Crafts processes). Mechanistic studies of some reactions of the latter type, such as the ethylation of benzene by QH5F, have shown that the BF3 functions as a scavenger for HF via the formation of HBF4 and thus participates stoichiometrically rather than catalytically. 

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