Friedel-Crafts acylation of arenes with carboxylic acids using silica gel supported AlCl_3

Aromatic compounds react smoothly with carboxylic acids in the presence of silica gel supported aluminium trichloride to afford the corresponding ketones with high regioselectivity in high to excellent yields. The catalyst is stable (as a bench top catalyst) and can be easily recovered and reused without appreciable change in its efficiency.