The Use of Modified Clay as an Efficient Heterogeneous and Ecofriendly Catalyst for the Synthesis of Chalcones via Claisen-Schmidt Condensation

Abstract

Clay modified by potassium fluoride (KF-modified clay) was used as an ecological alternative and heterogeneous catalyst for the preparation of chalcones via Claisen-Schmidt condensation. In this paper, we have synthesized classical chalcones by condensation of benzaldehyde substituents with acetophenone. Moreover, the other chalcones were also synthesized during the condensation of benzaldehyde substituents with 2-acetylfuran. All the results obtained show that our material can be used as an effective catalyst for the synthesis of chalcones with good yield included between 90 and 99%. The catalyst recycle study shows that the modified clay can be reused four times without a decrease in catalytic activity.