Benzoylation of xylenes using zeolitic catalysts

The effect of post-synthesis treatments of zeolite Y on the acylation of xylenes by benzoyl chloride has been investigated. The most active catalyst is highly crystalline material having a meso-pore structure and containing non-framework aluminium species, which shows an even higher initial activity than proton superacids. m -Xylene is the most active substrate among the three xylene isomers. Polar solvents such as sulfolane and nitrobenzene increase the reaction rate by several times, and non-polar solvents slow down the reaction.