An Effective Green Procedure for the Synthesis of Phenacyl Derivatives Catalyzed by Silica-bound 3-{2-[Poly(ethylene glycol)]ethyl}-substituted 1-Methyl-1H-imidazol-3-ium Bromide as a Recyclable Phase Transfer Catalyst under Aqueous Media

Abstract

The use of a recyclable phase transfer catalyst, SiO2-PEG-ImBr, is demonstrated in a simple and highly efficient synthesis of phenacyl derivatives by nucleophilic substitution reaction of phenacyl halides with different anions in water. Advantages of this system are easy work-up, moderate to good yields, and recyclable catalyst. The catalyst can be recycled and reused several times with no loss of its efficiency.