Calcium hydroxide an efficient catalyst for synthesis of arylethylidene malononitrile

In this paper, we study the effect of group 1st and 2nd metal hydroxide, metal carbonate on the Knoevenagel condensation reaction between malononitrile and acetophenone. We found that calcium hydroxide was an efficient catalyst for this reaction. Calcium hydroxide catalyzed the Knoevenagel condensation reaction between malononitrile and substituted acetophenone to afford arylethylidene malononitrile in the absence of any solvent. This process is simple, efficient, economical and environmentally benign. This method is well tolerated to wide variety of functional group such as amide, anhydride, ester, β-dicarbonyl compound. KEY WORDS: Malononitrile, Carbonyl compound, Knoevenagel condensation, Calcium hydroxide, Solvent free Bull. Chem. Soc. Ethiop. 2019, 33(1), 381-387.DOI: https://dx.doi.org/10.4314/bcse.v33i2.1