Cobalt Functionalized Metallosurfactant Catalytic Systems For Claisen Schmidt Condensation

Abstract Metallosurfactants are a class of functionalized organic surfactants which have various applications. Their properties are influenced by structural changes such as alkyl chain length, head groups and counter ions. In this study, cobalt‐functionalized metallosurfactants of various headgroups were prepared and characterized by FT‐IR, 1 H‐NMR, and TGA/DTG techniques. The as‐prepared metallosurfactants were employed as solubilizing agents as well as catalysts for Claisen‐Schmidt condensation between benzaldehyde and acetophenone. It was observed that the catalytic activity of the metallosurfactants was higher than that of the parent surfactants and could be correlated to the nature of the head group, extent of solubilization of the substrates and the CMC values. Applicability of this catalytic system was also demonstrated for gram‐scale synthesis (87% yield in 2 h).