Facile Synthesis of Bis-Trifluoromethyl 1,8-Dioxo-Octahydroxanthene Derivatives

Xanthene and Xanthenediones are structural components of several bioactive and semi-synthetic molecules. This work described an expeditious synthesis of novel and hitherto unreported bis-trifluoromethyl xanthene dione derivatives. The reaction of two equivalents of 5-trifluoromethyl cyclohexane-1,3- dione with substituted aromatic aldehydes in the presence of ethanol containing 1 - 2 drops of HCl was facile under microwave irradiation. Short reaction time (25 min), good to excellent yields (80% - 95%), good atom economy, and simple workup are the major advantages of the above procedure. Moreover, the fluorinated products represent synthetically useful stable intermediates that could find applications in pharmaceutical, agricultural and material industries.