ZrOCl₂ catalyzed Baeyer condensation: A facile and efficient synthesis of triarylmethanes under solvent-free conditions

Abstract

A facile and efficient synthesis of an array of triarylmethanes by the Baeyer condensation of different arylaldehydes carrying activated and deactivated groups and N,N-dimethylaniline using a catalytic amount of ZrOCl₂ under solvent-free microwave irradiation conditions is described. Further, the catalytic activity of ZrOCl₂ is compared with traditional Lewis acid catalysts and found that this synthetic method has the advantages of excellent yields (70-96%), shorter reaction time (few minutes) and solvent-free conditions.