Selective alkylation of mandelic acid to diarylacetic acids over a commercial zeolite.

A commercial zeolite is shown to be a highly effective heterogeneous catalyst for the Friedel-Crafts alkyation of mandelic acid with aromatic substrates. The reaction yields mixed diarylacetic acids in one step avoiding the need for inert atmosphere techniques or superacids. The observed reaction pathways are zeolite framework dependent with only the FAU framework giving very high selectivity to the mixed diarylacetic acids.