10.1016/S0040-4020(01)90320-5
The research focuses on novel secondary Friedel-Crafts acylation reactions of certain arenes, including dimethyl resorcinol, m-xylene, m-methylanisole, and m-chlorotoluene, using dichloroacetylchloride and anhydrous AlCl3 as catalysts. The purpose of the study was to explore the formation of unexpected products, which was found to depend on the nucleophilicity of the arene and the electrophilicity of the acyl carbonyl of the initially formed acylated product. The research concluded that higher molar proportions of the arene and sometimes elevated temperatures are necessary for the generation of these products, and the reaction pathway is influenced by the formation of possible complexes of AlCl3 and dichloroacetylchloride with groups adjacent to the dichloroacetyl function, especially at higher temperatures. The study demonstrated the potential of this method for preparing novel polyaryl compounds using substrates of varied nucleophilicity at different reaction temperatures.