Study on catalytic property of NaOH-cationic surfactant solutions for efficient, green and selective synthesis of flavanone

The catalytic activity of aqueous NaOH-cationic surfactant systems was studied for green, efficient and selective synthesis of flavanone (4) by cross aldol reaction of benzaldehyde (1) and o-hydroxy acetophenone (2) under ambient condition. The surfactant's nature and concentration influence the reaction. The NaOH-cationic surfactant systems having surfactant concentration below critical micelle concentration gave the highest conversion and selectively of flavanone.111