Knoevenagel condensation of isatins with malononitrile/ethyl cyanoacetate in the presence of sulfonic acid functionalized silica (SBA-Pr-SO3H) as a new nano-reactor

The Knoevenagel condensation between isatins and active methylene compounds like malononitrile and ethyl cyanoacetate to prepare 2-oxoindolin-3-ylidene malononitrile/ cyanoacetates is described. The reactions occur in the presence of sulfonic acid functionalized silica SBA-15 (SBA-Pr-SO3H) in an aqueous medium giving excellent yields of the products in short reaction times. SBA-Pr-SO3H with a pore size of 6 nm is found to be an efficient and environmentally benign catalyst for this reaction.