Patent ID: 6984760

Claim:
A process for the acylation of an aromatic compound (R 1 R 2 R 3 R 4 )-M—H of formula (I), wherein M is a single aromatic ring of 6 carbon atoms, a fused aromatic ring containing 10 carbon atoms and comprising 2 aromatic rings or a fused aromatic ring of 14 carbons atoms and comprising three aromatic rings: R 1 , R 2 , R 3 and R 4 are chemical groups attached to the aromatic ring wherein R 1 , R 2 , R 3 and R 4 are selected from the group consisting of hydrogen, alkane, alkene, phenyl, alkoxy, phenoxy, hydroxyl, acyl, ketones, amine, amide, thio, sulphonic acid, nitro or cyano group; using an acylating agent of formula (II) R 5 R 6 R 7 —Y—X wherein Y is a nucleus of an acylating agent and is selected from the group consisting of C—CO, C n H 2n-2 CO, C 6 H 2 —CO and C 6 H 2 C n H 2n —CO, n is an integer greater than zero and m is an integer greater than zero, X is a halogen atom or a hydroxyl group, and R 5 R 6 and R 7 are chemical groups attached to the nucleus of the acylating agent and are selected from the group consisting of hydrogen, alkane, alkene, phenyl, alkoxy, phenoxy, hydroxyl, acyl, ketones, amine, amide, thio, sulphonic acid, nitro or cyano group wherein the acylating agent of formula (II) comprises at least one carbonyl group; and a reusable solid catalyst, which comprises the steps of, i) reacting under stirring a crystalline micro- or mesoporous inorganic solid comprising surface hydroxyl groups with at least one anhydrous metal halide selected from the group consisting of anhydrous halides of Al, Ga, In, Ti and Fe, dissolved in a non-aqueous solvent, with the metal halide to the inorganic solid weight ratio in the range from 0.01 to 1.0 in the presence or absence of a flowing inert gas at a temperature in the range from 20° C. to 200° C., such that the amount of metal halide(s) consumed in the reaction is at least 0.1 mmol per gram of the inorganic solid and also the amount of hydrogen halide evolved in the reaction is at least 0.1 mole per mole of the metal halide(s) consumed in the reaction; ii) separating the resulting solid which is an organic solid catalyst from the reaction mixture obtained from step (i), washing with the non-aqueous solvent and drying under moisture-free atmosphere; iii) contacting in a stirred batch reactor a liquid reaction mixture comprising aromatic compound (I) and acylating agent (II) with the inorganic solid catalyst obtained from step (ii) in catalytic amounts at the following reaction conditions: the weight ratio of solid catalyst to acylating agent (II) is in the range from 0.005 to 1.0, the mole ratio of acylating agent (II) to aromatic compound (I) is in the range from 0.01 to 10, the temperature is in the range from 50° C. to 300° C. and the pressure is at least one atmosphere; iv) separating the solid catalyst and isolating the product(s), and the reactants, aromatic compound (I) and acylating agent (II) from the reaction mixture; and v) recycling the solid catalyst for its reuse in step (iii).