Screening of some aromatic and aliphatic ketones towards synthesis of their dimethyl ketals using graphene oxide as carbo-catalyst

Abstract

The ketalization of aliphatic and selected aromatic ketones has been investigated using graphene oxide (GO) as an efficient carbo-catalyst. The transformation of acetophenone derivatives and various aliphatic ketones was carried out at 25–30 °C using trimethyl orthoformate, which served both as a methanol source and an effective water scavenger. Under these mild conditions, the method afforded ketals in excellent yields, reaching up to 98%. A broad range of ketone substrates—including aromatic, aliphatic, unsaturated cyclic ketones were successfully converted, demonstrating the versatility of the catalytic system. The synthesized GO catalyst was thoroughly characterized using FTIR, XRD, EDX, Raman spectroscopy, XPS, and FE-SEM analyses. Importantly, the catalyst could be recovered and reused for up to five reaction cycles without significant loss of activity, consistently providing excellent yields. The use of graphene oxide as a catalyst offers several advantages over conventional sulfonated catalysts, including milder reaction conditions, reduced corrosiveness, enhanced recyclability, and improved environmental compatibility.

Graphical abstract

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