Hafnium (IV) bis(perfluorooctanesulfonyl)imide complex catalyzed direct amidomethylation for the synthesis of 1-(arylamido)-methyl-2-naphthols in fluorous medium

Hafnium (IV) bis(perfluorooctanesulfonyl)imide complex is found to be an efficient catalyst for the multicomponent condensation of β-naphthol, aromatic aldehydes and urea or amides in perfluorodecalin to afford the corresponding substituted amidomethyl naphthols in good yields. The remarkable features of this new procedure are high yields, shorter reaction times, reusability of catalyst and simple work-up procedures.