Synthesis, crystal and molecular structure, and antimicrobial activity of ethyl 2-(4-methylbenzylidene)-3-oxobutanoate

Ethyl 2-(4-methylbenzylidene)-3-oxobutanoate was synthesized by Knoevenagel condensation reaction of 4-methylbenzaldehyde and ethyl acetoacetate in the presence of catalytic amount of piperidine and trifluoroacetic acid in benzene under reflux conditions. The synthesised compound was characterized by 1H NMR, Mass spectra and X-ray diffraction studies. The title compound crystallizes in the triclinic p-1 space group with two molecules in an asymmetric unit having closely comparable geometries. The molecule assumes Z conformation about the C=C double bond.

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