Zirconocene Bis(perfluorooctanesulfonate)s-Catalyzed Highly Efficient Synthesis of 1,3,5-Triaryl Benzene via Cyclotrimerization of Ketones

Abstract

Air-stable zirconocene bis(perfluoroctanesulfonate)s [Cp₂Zr]OSO₂C₈F₁₇)₂] (1) with high Lewis acidity and high thermal stability was prepared by the reaction between Cp₂ZrCl₂ and AgOSO₂C₈F₁₇. The as-prepared complex 1 exhibits good activity and selectivity in the cyclotrimerization of various ketones to the desired 1,3,5-triaylbenzenes. Furthermore, in the cyclic experiments, the complex 1 shows little loss of activity after 10 cycles. The results afford a general and efficient method for the cyclotrimerization of ketones using Cp₂Zr(OSO₂C₈F₁₇)₂ as catalyst.

GRAPHICAL ABSTRACT

Keywords:

• Cyclotrimerization
• Lewis acid
• perfluorooctanesulfonate
• triarylbenzene
• zirconocene

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

This work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Project 20372020) and Hunan Province National Science Foundation (11JJ5009).

Notes

^a Isolated yield of 3.

^bSelectivity is determined by ¹H NMR.