title: Superacid-Catalyzed Reaction of Substituted Benzaldehydes with Benzene.
abstract: Benzaldehydes bearing an electron-withdrawing group reacted with 2 equiv of benzene in the presence of a superacid, trifluoromethanesulfonic acid, to give substituted triphenylmethane in good yields. On the other hand, benzaldehydes bearing an electron-donating or a neutral group reacted under the similar conditions to give unsubstituted diphenylmethane and triphenylmethanol, together with substituted benzene. We propose a new mechanism of this reaction, which involves transalkylation as the key step.
authors.affiliation: Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Tokyo, 7-3-1 Hongo, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo 113, Japan.
authors.forename: Shinichi
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Saito
authors.forename: Tomohiko
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Ohwada
authors.forename: Koichi
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Shudo