Indium triflate‐catalyzed one‐pot synthesis of 14‐alkyl or aryl‐14H‐dibenzo[a,j]xanthenes in water

A mild, efficient, and environment friendly method has been developed for the synthesis of 14‐alkyl or aryl‐14H‐dibenzo[a, j]xanthenes by condensation of 2‐naphthol and aldehydes in the presence of a catalytic amount of indium(III) triflate (2 mol%) in water at 100°C. Different types of aromatic and aliphatic aldehydes are used in the reaction, and in all cases the products synthesized in moderate to excellent yields. © 2009 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Heteroatom Chem 20:232–234, 2009; Published online in Wiley InterScience ( www.interscience.wiley.com ). DOI 10.1002/hc.20539