Graphite Oxide as an Auto‐Tandem Oxidation–Hydration–Aldol Coupling Catalyst

Graphite oxide (GO) was found to function as an auto‐tandem oxidation–hydration–aldol coupling catalyst for the formation of chalcones in a single reaction vessel. Various alkynes or alcohols were hydrated or oxidized in situ to their corresponding methyl ketones or aldehydes, respectively, which underwent a subsequent Claisen–Schmidt condensation. Each of the aforementioned reactions proceeded in the absence of metals (confirmed by inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry, ICP‐MS) and afforded a range of chalcone products in good to excellent yields from commercially available starting materials.