Investigation of the reaction of dimedone with aromatic aldehydes in the presence of copper oxide nanoparticles

Variously substituted methylene bis(3-hydroxy-5,5-dimethyl-2-cyclohexene-1-one) derivatives were synthesized in 83–96% yield by the reaction of substituted benzaldehyde with 5, 5-dimethyl-1, 3-cyclohexanedione in the presence of CuO nanoparticles (NPs). Tandem grinding involves Knoevenagel condensation followed by the Michael addition in sequence for the formation of 2, 2’-arylmethylenebis (3-hydroxy-5, 5-dimethyl-2-cyclohexene-1-one) derivatives. Copper oxide NPs were synthesized by sol-gel method. The characterization of CuO NPs was done on the basis of PXRD, FTIR, SEM and TEM techniques. The synthesized derivatives were characterized on the basis of spectral analyses and corresponding melting points reported in the literature.