The acylation with acetic anhydride of six aromatic substrates with different features (degree of activation of the aromatic ring towards electrophilic substitution, number of rings, ie, 1 or 2) was carried out in a batch reactor at 373 K over a H-BEA zeolite (Si/Al= 15) with nitrobenzene as a solvent. The acetylation rate was found to be very dependent on the degree of ring activation, with diffusion limitations playing only a limited role. The ...