Silica Chloride (SiO2-Cl), a New Heterogeneous Reagent, for the Selective and Efficient Conversion of Benzylic Alcohols to Their Corresponding Chlorides and Iodides

Abstract Structurally different benzylic alcohols were efficiently converted to their corresponding chlorides by silica chloride (SiO2-Cl) in CHCl3 at room temperature. Silica chloride is also able to convert benzylic alcohols to their iodides in the presence of NaI in a mixture of CH3CN/CHCl3 in excellent yields.