With chloroindate ionic liquids

Diarylketones are also the important fine chemical intermediates, which could be prepared by the acylation of aromatic hydrocarbon with benzoyl chloride and benzoic anhydride. The ionic liquids have also been used to catalyze the synthesis of diarylke-tone. Earle et al. [105] have reported the benzoylation of benzene, derivants of benzene (toluene, anisole, isobutyl benzene, phenyl chloride and fluoride) to synthesize the diarylketone by use of chloroindate (III) ionic liquids as the green dual catalysts and solvents. As a result, good yields (75-96%) were obtained under proper conditions with the ionic liquids as the clean reaction medium and recyclable catalysts. 

A review of solvent properties of, and organic reactivity in, ionic liquids demonstrates the relatively small number of quantitative studies of electrophilic aromatic substitution in these media.3 Studies mentioned in the review indicate conventional polar mechanisms. 1-Methylpyrrole reacts with acyl chlorides in the ionic liquid 1-butylpyridinium tetrafluoroborate to form the corresponding 2-acylpyrrole in the presence of a catalytic amount of ytterbium(III) trifluoromethanesulfonate.4 The ionic liquid-catalyst system is recyclable. Chloroindate(III) ionic liquids5 are catalytic media for the acylation, using acid chlorides and anhydrides, of naphthalene, benzene, and various substituted benzenes at 80-120 °C. Again the ionic liquid is recyclable. 

Gunaratne HQN, Lotz TJ, Seddon KR (2010) Chloroindate(III) ionic liquids as catalysts for alkylation of phenolsand catechol with alkenes. New J Chem 34 1821-1824... 

Hard Lewis acid chloroaluminate ionic liquids show intense catalytic activity in the Friedel-Crafts acylation reaction however, they suffer from the same issues as anhydrous aluminum chloride. i Of particular interest to these reactions, aluminum chloride may be replaced by indium trichloride to form chloroindate(III) ionic liquids. The advantage of using indium trichloride compared with aluminum chloride is represented by its hydrolytic stability and reduced oxophilicity. Chloroindate(III) ionic liquids are synthesized by mixing l-butyl-3-methylimidazolium chloride [C4mim]Cl with anhydrous indium trichloride at 80°C. In the benzoyla-tion of anisole with benzoic anhydride (BAN) at 80°C, the best yield of... 

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