A simple access to triarylmethane derivatives from aromatic aldehydes and electron-rich arenes catalyzed by FeCl3

Under ‘open-flask’ and mild conditions, arenes condense smoothly with aromatic aldehydes in the presence of catalytic amount of FeCl3. The reaction tolerated a variety of substitutions and functional groups. This method provides a facile and direct access to symmetrical and unsymmetrical triarylmethane derivatives.