One-pot Three-component Synthesis of β-amino Carbonyl Compounds Using Nanocrystalline Solid Acid Catalyst

This study presents a simple highly versatile and efficient synthesis of various β-amino carbonyl compounds in the Mannich reaction of acetophenone with aromatic aldehydes and aromatic amines in the presence of nanosulfated zirconia, nanostructured ZnO, nano-γ-alumina, and nano-ZSM-5 zeolites as the catalyst in ethanol at moderate temperature. The optical properties of the nanostructured organic molecules were studied. The advantages of methods are short reaction times, milder conditions, easy workup, and purification of products by nonchromatographic methods. The catalysts can be recovered for the subsequent reactions and reused without any appreciable loss of efficiency.