The invention discloses an improved process method for preparing 5-chloroindanone, and belongs to the technical field of
organic synthesis. The method comprises the following steps: mixing
chlorobenzene with
anhydrous aluminum trichloride, adding 3-chloropropionyl
chloride, and carrying out Friedel-Crafts
acylation reaction to obtain 3,4'-dichloropropiophenone; then carrying out catalytic cyclization under the condition of
anhydrous aluminum trichloride /
sodium chloride or tri(pentafluorophenyl)
borane; and after the reaction is finished, washing the product with water and directly rectifying the product to obtain the 5-chloroindanone. According to the process disclosed by the invention, the direct
distillation is performed after
water washing, so that no subsequent operation is performed, the operation steps are reduced, the production time is shortened, the production cost is saved, the extraction effect of the product is greatly improved, the yield of the product is improved by 15% or above, low-boiling-point substances and high-boiling-point substances can be effectively removed through direct
distillation, and the content of the product is improved to 99.5% or above; meanwhile, cyclization is carried out under
catalysis of tri(pentafluorophenyl)
borane, so that the total dosage of
aluminum trichloride can be reduced, the cyclization
reaction temperature is reduced, the generation of
tar is reduced, and the yield of the product is improved.