Polyguanidine as a Highly Efficient and Reusable Catalyst for Knoevenagel Condensation Reactions in Water

Abstract

Polyguanidine is used as a novel and highly efficient catalyst in the Knoevenagel reaction of aldehydes with active methylene compounds in water to afford substituted electrophilic alkenes. This method is applicable for a wide range of aldehydes including aromatic and heterocyclic substrates. The polyguanidine catalyst can be recovered by simple filtration and reused many times for the aqueous Knoevenagel reaction without loss of activity.