Mild acidic charcoal: adsorption, analysis, and application

The adsorption of glacial acetic acid over a charcoal support was investigated. The amount of adsorption was analyzed using a traditional titration method and the prepared adsorbed system was employed as a heterogeneous catalyst for organic reactions as a viable application. Different 14-aryl-14<i>H</i>-dibenzo[a,j]xanthenes were synthesized using mild acidic charcoal as a catalyst and yields of 88%-94% were obtained. The advantages of this method include the easy preparation of a cheaper and environmentally safe catalyst system, a simple work-up procedure, and excellent catalytic efficacy.