Friedel-Craft Acylation Lab Report

This experiment is based on the Friedel-Craft acylation reaction. The reagents involve were Ferrocene reacting with acetic anhydride in an acid-catalyzed reaction. A column chromatography was performed in order to get a pure acetyl Ferrocene product. Aluminum chloride was use as the catalyst during the Friedel-Crafts acylation of the benzene ring. Ferrocene is categorized as a super aromatic compound due to its high pi-electron density, and has the ability to be acylated with phosphoric acid as a catalyst. The latter is considered to be a milder condition when compared. The acylium cation is generated with the use of the acid, which include the protonation of acetic anhydride and the loss of the acetic acid. This reaction proceed with the cyclopentadienyl
ferrocene ring attacking the acylium cation electrophile, this result in the acetyl group substitution for a ring proton. The resulting acetylferrocene and ferrocene product are separated using column chromatography.