Synthesis of biscoumarin derivatives by the reaction of aldehydes and 4-hydroxycoumarin using ruthenium (III) chloride hydrate as a versatile homogeneous catalyst

The one-pot domino Knoevenagel-type condensation/Michael reaction of aromatic, heteroaromatic and aliphatic aldehydes with 4-hydroxycoumarin in aqueous media in the presence of ruthenium salt as homogeneous catalyst was investigated. It was found that 5 mol% of RuCl3.nH2O catalyzes biscoumarin synthesis in high yields (70-95%) under optimised, mild, green and environmentally benign reaction conditions in short times (25-35min).