Abstract
Knoevenagel condensation of various aromatic and heteroaromatic aldehydes with active methylene compounds like methyl and ethyl cyanoacetate, malononitrile, and cyanoacetamide proceeds smoothly with stirring in water in the presence of 4 mol% of diammonium hydrogen phosphate. The reactions were carried out at room temperature in short periods with very simple workup procedure and good to high yields.
Acknowledgments
Saeed Balalaie is grateful to the Alexander von Humboldt foundation for the research fellowship and equipment donation. Partial support of this work by the K. N. Toosi University of Technology Research Council is gratefully acknowledged.