Green synthesis of novel chalcone and coumarin derivatives via Suzuki coupling reaction

Chalcones and coumarins are important naturally occurring plant constituents and display a wide range of pharmacological and biological activities. In an environmentally benign approach, synthesis of biphenyl chalcone and coumarin derivatives was successfully accomplished via Suzuki coupling by using PEG-400 as a solvent under microwave irradiation. Salient feature of this methodology includes: short reaction time, good to excellent yields, and prominent tolerance of different functional groups. (C) 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.