[6] Bromination occurs readily, giving mesityl bromide:[7] Mesitylene is a ligand in organometallic chemistry, one example being the organomolybdenum complex [(η6-C6H3Me3)Mo(CO)3][8] which can be prepared from molybdenum hexacarbonyl.

[12] Although it is highly toxic, Zn(CN)2 is a solid, making it safer to work with than gaseous hydrogen cyanide (HCN).

[13] The Zn(CN)2 reacts with the HCl to form the key HCN reactant and ZnCl2 that serves as the Lewis-acid catalyst in-situ.

[14] Mesitylene was first prepared in 1837 by Robert Kane, an Irish chemist, by heating acetone with concentrated sulfuric acid.

[18] In 1866 Adolf von Baeyer gave a correct mesitylene's empirical formula; however, with a wrong structure of tetracyclo[3.1.1.11,3.13,5]nonane.

[19] A conclusive proof that mesitylene was trimethylbenzene was provided by Albert Ladenburg in 1874; however, assuming wrong benzene structure of prismane.

Larger analogues with even greater steric demand, for example 2,6-diisopropylphenyl (Dipp) and the analogously named Tripp ((iPr)3C6H2, Is) and supermesityl ((tBu)3C6H2, Mes*) groups, may be even more effective toward achieving these goals.