Perfluoroalkylated pyridine catalyzed Knoevenagel condensation: An important complement of fluorous catalysis without fluorous solvent

Knoevenagel condensation proceeds efficiently in the presence of catalytic amount of perfluoroalkylated pyridine under homogeneous conditions in n-octane at 80 degrees C. The catalyst can be recovered by simple cooling and precipitation and used again. The protocol avoids the use of fluorous solvents during the reaction or workup, which is expensive and can leach in small amounts. (C) 2007 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.