A novel catalytic synthesis of 3,3'-(arylmethylene)-bis-(4-hydroxy-2H-chromene-2-one) derivatives from a tandem condensation reaction of 4-hydroxycoumarin and aromatic aldehydes has been developed. The reaction occurs in water in the presence of Melamine trisulfonic acid as catalyst to give the corresponding products in good to high yields. This green approach has several advantages such as short reaction times, clean reaction profiles, and simple experimental and workup procedures. Moreover, the catalyst can be easily recovered by filtration and used at least seven times with only slight reduction in its catalytic activity. The results of the presented protocol in comparison with the different available catalysts in condensation reaction of benzaldehyde with 4-Hydroxycoumarin show that MTSA presented better results due to the structure of MTSA. Manuscript profile

Silica-bonded n-propyldiethylenetriamine sulfamic acid (SBPDSA) was found as an efficient solid acid for the synthesis of coumarins. Coumarin derivatives were obtained via the Pechmann condensation reaction of phenols and β-keto-esters at 80 oC under solvent-free conditions. Also, biscoumarins were obtained via the condensation of aldehydes and 4-hydroxycoumarin in water at reflux conditions. The heterogeneous solid acid showed much the same efficiency when used in consecutive reaction runs. Manuscript profile