Iron(III) Chloride as a Lewis Acid in the Friedel-Crafts Acylation Reaction

As one of the most important reactions in aromatic substitution chemistry, the Friedel-Crafts reaction receives extensive coverage in sophomore organic chemistry. The most widely used Lewis acid for the Friedel-Crafts reactiuon is aluminum chloride. The safety and handling problems associated with using aluminum chloride prompted us to examine iron(III) chloride as an alternative Lewis acid for the Friedel-Crafts acylation reaction. In this article we describe an experiment that uses iron(III) chloride. Its use avoids many of the problems commonly associated with aluminum chloride without substantial loss in yield.