Hydroxyalkylcyclohexadienyl)tricarbonylmanganese complexes 3a and 3b have been prepared, and their rearomatization delivered compounds 5 and 6, the first benzylic alcohol derivatives coordinated to the cationic Mn(CO) 3 tripod. The structure of 5 has been determined by X-ray crystallography. 1-Hydroxyalkyl 3a, 7, 8, 2-hydroxyalkyl 19, 20, and 3-hydroxyalkyl 25, 26 (η 5cyclohexadienyl)tricarbonylmanganese complexes have been synthesized and studied toward trifluoroacetylation of the hydroxy group when submitted to the action of NEt 3 and (CF 3 CO) 2 O. Only the 2hydroxyalkyl-substituted complexes eclipsed by a Mn-CO bond of the Mn(CO) 3 tripod gave the expected trifluoroacetate derivatives 21 and 22. For the 1-hydroxyalkyl-substituted complexes, elimination of the trifluoroacetoxy group took place followed by decoordination of the Mn(CO) 3 moiety and trifluoroacetylation, giving rise to trifluoromethyltrienones 10, 11, and 12, whose stuctures were established by X-ray analysis. For 3-hydroxyalkyl-substituted complexes, elimination of the trifluoroacetoxy group also occurred, yielding free arenes 27 and 28 by decoordination of the Mn(CO) 3 entity.