Abstract Friedel-Crafts reaction represents one of the oldest and most frequently practiced C-C bond formation reactions, which has beenfound extensive applications in many chemical industry divisions including medicine, dyes, and petroleum. Since its discovery in 1877, the Friedel-Crafts reaction has been evolved into a classic reaction written into textbooks for organic chemistry. As featured by many other important chemical discoveries, the birth of Friedel-Crafts reaction was also full of serendipities, brimming with keen insights and unexceptional logical reasoning standards from the the chemists. This article briefly summarizes the historical backgrounds related to the discovery of this reaction by reviewing some early literature as well as the upbringing and schooling of Charles Friedel and James Crafts. The nearly 40-years-long cooperation between these two great chemists was also surveyed in retrospect.
LI Wan-Fang, DENG Qin-Yue, HUANG Ming-Xian. Friedel-Crafts: The Great Reaction and the Great Collaborators[J]. Chinese Journal of Chemical Education, 2021, 42(10): 106-111.
