Cross-aldol and Knoevenagel condensation reactions in aqueous micellar media

Cross-aldol condensation of aromatic aldehydes with cyclic ketones in a micellar medium afforded α,α′-bis (substituted benzylidene) cycloalkanones in high yields. Knoevenagel condensation carried out in micellar media is observed to be faster than that in the aqueous solution. The present method is operationally simple and the use of water as the reaction medium makes the process environmentally benign.