Abstract The present work is on the synthesis of a pyrylium salt, 8-hydroxy-2,4-diphenyl-5,6,7,8-tetrahydrochromenylium tetrafluoroborate, a precursor for interesting transition metal ligands. Different routes are presented with the aim of making an affordable precursor for the variety of syntheses possible from these versatile pyrylium salts. New findings include a preparative non optimized ...