Аn improved method for preparation of heptyl (4-trifluoroacetyl) benzoate

A convenient three-step method for synthesis of heptyl (4-trifluoroacetyl)benzoate, an important neutral anion carrier, has been developed. The key step of the method is acylation of toluene by trifluoroacetic anhydride in presence of aluminium chloride at –8 – –10 oC. The procedure gives high overall yield and, unlike the earlier methods, does not include any organometallic reagents, therefore allowing scaling it up to several hundred grams, that makes the target compound much more readily available.