1,1-Diacetates were produced from a variety of aromatic aldehydes using rice husk supported FeCl3 nanoparticles as a catalyst. The procedure generally resulted in good yields (98%) of aromatic aldehydes including those carrying electron donating- or withdrawing-substituents. Deprotection of the resulting 1,1-diacetates was also achieved using the same catalyst in ethanol. This new method consistently has the advantages of excellent yields and relatively short reaction times. Further, the catalyst can be reused and recovered for several times. (C) 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.