Montmorillonite clay-promoted, solvent-free cross-aldol condensations under focused microwave irradiation.

An environmentally benign, clean and general protocol was developed for the synthesis of aryl and heteroaryl trans-chalcones. This method involved solvent-free reaction conditions under microwave irradiation in the presence of a clay-based catalyst, and afforded the target compounds in good yields and short reaction times. Furthermore, the same conditions allowed the synthesis of symmetrical, diarylmethylene-α,β-unsaturated ketones from aromatic aldehydes and ketones.