RuCl3.nH2O as Catalyst in Aldol Reaction of Isatin with Acetophenone

Lewis acid catalyzed reactions belong to one of the most strong methods in modern synthetic chemistry. Among the many Lewis acids extended so far, ruthenium has attracted growing attention because of the unique combinations of their strong Lewis acidity mixed with moderation and usually high selectivity [1]. On the other hand, the aldol products form the spine of many important drugs and other bioactive molecules. The frequent incidence of a β-hydroxyl carbonyl moiety in a variety of natural products has motivate the expansion of synthetic methods for the preparation of these compounds [2]. In order to do these reactions under mild conditions, some metal ions are used as catalyst or reagent. In continuation of our continuing program to develop green synthetic protocols [3-4], we report a simple, green, and selective method for the direct one-pot synthesis of β-hydroxyl carbonyl compound using catalytic amounts of RuIII as an efficient catalyst (Fig. 1). RuCl3.nH2O is used as an efficient catalyst for synthesis of β-hydroxy unit using isatin and acetophenone. This method has potential advantages, including short reaction time, a simple work-up procedure, and clean reaction profiles. More importantly, this direct aldol reaction performs under extremely mild conditions (room temperature) to give the corresponding aldol adduct in moderate yield. Meanwhile, its catalytic performances for aldol reaction presents good activity and high diastereoselectivity. Various products are under construction with this catalytic method.

کلیدواژه ها:

Ruthenim (III) ، Catalyst ، Aldol reaction