Choline chloride based eutectic solvents: Magical catalytic system for carbon–carbon bond formation in the rapid synthesis of β-hydroxy functionalized derivatives

Significant β-hydroxy functionalized derivatives including nitroaldols, β-hydroxy nitriles and β-hydroxy carboxylic acids were successfully prepared, for the first time, by catalytic use of deep eutectic solvents (DES). This paper explores the versatility and effectiveness of DES as catalyst in three different carbon–carbon bond formation reactions. The uniqueness of this catalyst lies in its simplicity since it avoids expensive catalysts and multi-step synthesis as reported in literature. The compounds, which are potent intermediates for innumerable useful products, were synthesized in excellent yields within very short reaction times. The catalyst prepared from choline chloride and urea, is biodegradable, non-toxic, cost-effective and recyclable.

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► Catalytic role of deep eutectic solvent in C-C bond formation reaction is explored.
► The method gave excellent yields in lesser reaction times.
► Multi-step synthesis and expensive catalysts were avoided.
► The catalyst is recyclable with no loss in activity even after 4 runs.