An imine can be isolated as an intermediate reaction product. The attacking electrophile is possibly[2] a species of the type R-C+=NHCl−. The arene must be electron-rich i.e. phenol or aniline type. A related reaction is the Gattermann reaction in which hydrocyanic acid not a nitrile is used.
The reaction is named after Kurt Hoesch[3] and Josef Houben[4] who reported about this new reaction type in respectively 1915 and 1926.
Mechanism
The mechanism of the reaction involves two steps. The first step is a nucleophilic addition to the nitrile with the aid of a polarizing Lewis acid, forming an imine, which is later hydrolyzed during the aqueous workup to yield the final aryl ketone.