Iron-catalyzed 2-acylbenzothiazole formation from aryl ketones and benzothiazoles using oxygen as oxidant

A convenient and efficient method for the synthesis of 2-acylbenzothiazoles from benzothiazoles and aromatic ketones using oxygen as oxidant is described. FeCl3·6H2O showed the best reactivity among the various iron salts investigated. Various functional groups were well tolerated under the optimized reaction conditions.