One-step synthesis of xanthones catalyzed by a highly efficient copper-based magnetically recoverable nanocatalyst

A versatile and highly efficient strategy to construct a xanthone skeleton via a ligand-free intermolecular catalytic coupling of 2-substituted benzaldehydes and a wide range of phenols has been developed. For this purpose, a novel and magnetically recoverable catalyst consisting of copper nanoparticles on nanosized silica coated maghemite is presented. The reaction proceeds smoothly with easy recovery and reuse of the catalyst. The methodology is compatible with various functional groups and provides an attractive protocol for the generation of a small library of xanthones in very good yield.