One-pot synthesis of 5-acetylacenaphthene using heteropoly acid catalysts

A novel one-pot catalytic synthesis of 5-acetylacenaphthene through the acylation of acenaphthene with acetyl chloride catalyzed by various Keggin type heteropoly acids (salts) was investigated. Pure 5-acetylacenaphthene was obtained and the structure of 5-acetylacenaphthene was identified by GC/MS, FT-IR and NMR spectra. H(3)PW(12)O(40) (PW) was found to be the most active catalyst in the acylation. The yield and the selectivity of 5-acetylacenaphthene were 51.2 and 83.4%, respectively. The effects of experimental parameters on the catalytic acylation reaction and the recycling performance of PW catalyst were studied. The PW catalyst shows good catalytic activity after running for five times. The facile product separation and the recycling performance of the PW catalyst is expected to contribute to the development of a clean and environmentally friendly strategy for the synthesis of 5-acetylacenaphthene.