A convenient three-component reaction leading to the synthesis of polysubstituted cyclohexene derivatives

Abstract

A three-component reaction of β-nitrostyrene, arylmethylidenemalononitrile and malononitrile catalyzed by imidazole produced the corresponding polysubstituted cyclohexene derivatives in moderate to good yields under mild conditions. A further improvement of this three-component reaction has also been achieved by starting from a commercially available aromatic aldehyde, nitromethane and malononitrile to give the products in moderate yields.