Abstract: 3,4-Dimethoxy-4′-hydroxychalcone was synthesized by the Claisen-Schmidt condensation using 3,4-dimethoxybenzaldehyde and 4′-hydroxyacetophenone as reagents with ultrasonic radiation and dry HCl(g) as catalyst. The structure of the product was confirmed by IR and 1H NMR. The optimized synthesis conditions were to use anhydrous ethanol as the solvent, reaction temperature of 30 ℃, ultrasonic radiation of 240 W, and radiation time of 20 min. A yield of 92.1% was obtained for the reaction with 1∶1 stoichiometric ratio for the starting materials. Compared with previous method in the literature, the present procedure requires a shorter reaction time, and has easier work-up and higher yield.

Key words: dimethoxyhydroxy chalcone, ultrasound, synthesis