Anhydrous RuCl3, catalyses the efficient cross aldol condensations of
different ketones with various aromatic aldehydes in sealed tube under
solvent free conditions without the occurrence of any self condensati
ons. Regioselective self condensation reaction of some ketones and ald
ehydes are also described. The catalytic effect of Ru(III) is shown by
performing similar reactions under thermal conditions without catalys
t. (C) 1998 Published by Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.