TiO2: A simple and an efficient catalyst for esterification of phenols under solvent-free condition

In the presence of catalytic amount of titanium oxide (TiO 2 ), without any additional solvent at 25 °C, phenols are conveniently acylated by acid chlorides to get phenolic esters in excellent yields. The TiO 2 powder can be reused three times after simple washing with CH 2 Cl 2 .