A facile and convenient one-pot synthesis of polysubstituted thiophenes from 1,3-dicarbonyl compounds in water

A facile and convenient one-pot synthesis of polysubstituted thiophenes 2 and polysubstituted thieno[2,3-b]thiophenes 3 from 1,3-dicarbonyl compounds 1 has been achieved in high yields catalyzed by tetrabutylammonium bromide (TBAB) in the presence of K2CO3 in water. TBAB in the aqueous phase can be recycled after the separation of organic products.