Abstract Lanthanum and yttrium trifluoromethanesulfonates at 1 mole% concentration, have been found to catalyze a reaction between ammonia and aromatic nitriles to yield symmetrically substituted 2, 4, 6-triaryl-s-triazines. The generally high yields and relatively mild reaction conditions of this procedure suggest it as an alternative to other aromatic nitrile cyclotrimerization reactions. Of the aliphatic nitriles studied, acetonitrile and ...