Synthesis of chalcone (3-(4-fluorophenyl)-1-(4-methoxyphenyl)prop-2-en-1-one): Advantage of sonochemical method over conventional method

In this work, an attempt was made to synthesize chalcone (3-(4-fluorophenyl)-1-(4-methoxyphenyl)prop-2-en-1-one) by condensation of 4-fluorobenzaldehyde with 1-(4-methoxyphenyl)ethanone under basic conditions by using both conventional (NUS) and sonochemical (US) methods. A simple condensation reaction of 4-fluorobenzaldehyde and 1-(4-methoxyphenyl)ethanone using potassium hydroxide as a base was carried out for the study. The synthesized chalcone derivative was characterized for FTIR, NMR, elemental analyses and studied for XRD, PSM, TGA and SEM properties to evaluate its performance obtained under ultrasonic energy. It was observed that complete conversion to chalcone occurred in 10 min by sonochemical method and in 4 h by conventional method. Also it was found that crystallinity of the US synthesized chalcone was found to be increased by 63% than that of NUS synthesized chalcone. Finally, it has been observed that chalcone synthesis using sonochemical method is an energy efficient technique over conventional method (almost 90% of energy saving).

Graphical abstractFigure optionsDownload full-size imageDownload as PowerPoint slideResearch highlights► Chalcone synthesis. ► Acoustic cavitation (ultrasound). ► Energy efficient and environmental benign process. ► Nano semi-crystalline and thermally stable organic molecule. ► Advantage of sonochemical method over conventional method.