Friedel-Crafts Acylation of Anisole with Carboxylic Anhydrides of Large Molecular Sizes on Mesoporous Silica Catalyst

Abstract

The titled reaction was well catalyzed on mesoporous silica MCM-41. The acylation of anisole with carboxylic anhydrides of large molecular sizes such as hexanoic anhydride and benzoic anhydride proceeded with excellent or good yields at 453 K, while the small molecules including propionic and acetic anhydrides gave moderate yields. The presence of nano-sized pores of MCM-41 was essential to generate the catalytic activity while the Al content showed little effect on the catalysis.