Highly selective synthesis of acetylferrocene by acylation of ferrocene over zeolites Original Research Article

Zeolites with different structure and concentration of acid sites were investigated in a liquid phase acylation of ferrocene with acetic anhydride. It was found that the conversion of ferrocene increased in the order: medium pore zeolites < 1D large pore zeolites < 3D large pore zeolites. Zeolite SSZ-33 with interconnecting 10 and 12-membered rings exhibited a slightly lower conversion compared with mordenite. The increase in the conversion of ferrocene was observed with decreasing Si/Al ratio for the given zeolite structure. Both Broensted and Lewis acid sites contribute to the catalytic activity of zeolites in ferrocene acylation. Mono-acylated ferrocene (acetylferrocene) was synthesized by this reaction with almost 100% selectivity.