Stable Carbocation Generated via 2,5-Cyclohexadien-1-one Protonation

Protonation of a substituted cyclohexadien-1-one (1) leads to the generation of carbocation [3]+, capable of effecting hydride abstraction and oxidation reactions. The molecular structure of [3]+ shows it to be structurally similar to [(p-MeO-C6H4)Ph2C]+. The ability to easily access [3]+ from stable and available precursors, such as 1 and commercially available acids, may allow a wider application of the growing number of trityl-based reactions in organic syntheses.