Green synthesis of chalcones derivatives

Chalcone is a common natural pigment and one of the important intermediates in flavonoid biosynthesis. It has broad bioactivities such as anti-inflammatory, anti-cancer, and anti-fungal properties. In this research, chalcone derivatives were synthesized as a precursor of hydrogenation transfer reaction to afford dihydrochalcones. This study aimed to synthesize chalcone derivatives and determine the effect of hydroxyl substituents qualitatively. Our experiment was carried out to synthesis some chalcone derivatives at room temperature just by stirring process. In this study the synthesis of chalcone derivatives was started from 5 mmol various benzaldehyde and acetophenone in the presence of a 60% KOH catalyst solution then the mixture was stirred for 1.5 hours and allowed to stand for 16 hours. The solution of 10% HCl was added and the formed crystal was then purified by recrystallization. The purity of chalcones yielded was investigated by Thin Layer Chromatography (TLC) and melting point test while the structure was then characterized by UV-vis and NMR spectroscopy. It was found that the optimal stirring time was 1.5 hours, the yield of hydroxyl substituted chalcone was higher than the compound which was not substituted. It can be concluded that the synthesis results in hydroxyl substituted chalcone derivatives have higher yields compared to chalcone derivatives without hydroxyl substitution.