Lewis acid catalyzed reaction of aromatic vinyl halides with aromatic aldehydes: A novel Aldol-type condensation mimic

In the presence of catalytic amounts of Lewis acid, aromatic alpha -vinyl h alides readily undergo reaction with aromatic aldehydes at ambient temperat ures to give a variety of substituted trans-chalcones in moderate to excell ent yields. These compounds are potentially useful synthetic intermediates for organic synthesis as well as compounds of significance in terms of thei r ability to exhibit a wide spectrum of biological activity. This is the fi rst reported example in which haloalkenyl derivatives other than metallooxy alkenes can participate in the Mukaiyama-aldol type carbon-carbon formation reaction.