Trifluoroacetic anhydride (0.33 mL, 2.36 mmol) was added slowly and dropwise to a stirred solution of 1-(2,4-dimethylphenyl)-2-[(3-methoxyphenyl)methylene]hydrazide (500 mg, 1.97 mmol) and triethylamine (0.33 mL, 2.36 mmol) in dichloromethane (5 mL) at 0 °C and under nitrogen protection. The reaction mixture was stirred continuously at 0°C for 1.5 hours. Upon completion of the reaction, the mixture was concentrated and the residue was purified by column chromatography using acetone/hexane (1:10) as eluent to afford the target product 2,2,2-trifluoroacetic acid 1-(2,4-dimethylphenyl)-2-[(3-methoxyphenyl)methylidene]hydrazide (571 mg, 83% yield) as a light yellow oil.1H NMR (CDCl3) data were as follows: δ7.26-7.23 (m, 4H), 7.19 (d, J = 8.0 Hz, 1H), 7.12 (d, J = 7.5 Hz, 1H), 7.03 (d, J = 8.0 Hz, 1H), 6.92 (dd, J = 8.5,2.0 Hz, 1H), 3.79 (s, 3H), 2.39 (s, 3H), 2.08 (s 3H). High-resolution mass spectrometry (ESI-TOF, m/z) analysis resulted in a calculated value of 351.1320 for C18H18N2O2F3 ([M + H]+); the measured value was 351.1311.