Knoevenagel condensation between carbonyl compounds and active methylene compounds as well as three component Mannich reaction between aldehydes, ketones and amines proceeded smoothly in water with good to excellent yield and high selectivity in the presence of zero and first generation poly(amidoamine) (PAMAM) dendrimers. The products and the catalyst were separated by simple biphasic extraction. The catalyst was found to be reusable.
This manuscript describes the first example of silver ion complex of a dendritic tetranitrile ligand catalyzed
one-pot three component Mannich reaction and 1,5-benzodiazepine synthesis. The catalyst can be separated from the
products by a change in the solvent. The catalyst is reusable.