Aluminium metal powder (atomized) catalyzed Friedel-Crafts acylation in solvent-free conditions: A facile and rapid synthesis of aryl ketones under microwave irradiation

Aluminium metal powder (atomized) was found to be able to catalyze Friedel-Crafts acylation in solvent-free conditions under microwave irradiation for facile and rapid synthesis of aryl ketones in excellent yields. The aluminium metal powder (atomized) can be recovered and reused several times by simple washing with diethyl ether, thus, this paper describes a new greener method for synthesis of aryl ketones. Moreover, activated substrates undergo acylation predominantly at the para-position.