Sulfonylation of aromatic compounds with sulfonic acids using silica gel-supported AlCl3 as a heterogeneous Lewis acid catalyst

Silica gel-supported aluminum chloride (SiO2-AlCl3) has been shown to be a mild, efficient, and chemoselective heterogeneous Lewis acid catalyst for direct conversion of arenes to sulfones using sulfonic acids as sulfonylating agents. The catalyst can be prepared easily with cheap starting materials and is stable (as a bench-top catalyst) and reusable.