Abstract
The Baylis‐Hillman reaction of aromatic aldehydes with various activated alkenes catalyzed by N,N,N′,N′–Tetramethylethylenediamine (TMEDA) in aqueous medium were reported. The efficiency of this catalyst was examined in comparison with DABCO. It was demonstrated that this amine is not only a very efficient catalyst for the Baylis‐Hillman reaction, it also outperforms the most widely used catalyst DABCO.
Acknowledgments
The present work was supported by the Natural Science Foundation of China (30000112); Laboratory of Organic Solid, Chinese Academy of Sciences, and The Returned Student Science Foundation of Shanxi Province of China.