Mechanism of Friedel–Crafts Acylation Using Metal Triflate in Deep Eutectic Solvents: An Experimental and Computational Study

In this paper, we develop a method for Friedel–Crafts acylation using metal triflate in deep eutectic solvents. Various metal triflates were tested and provided good to excellent yields of corresponding ketone products. The density functional theory calculation revealed the metal effects on the formation of active intermediate acylium triflate as well as the acidic condition. The metal triflate in the deep eutectic solvent can be recovered and reused with a little loss in the catalytic activity.