Cerium (IV) ammonium nitrate (CAN) as a catalyst in tap water: A simple, proficient and green approach for the synthesis of quinoxalines

Various biologically important quinoxaline derivatives have been efficiently synthesized in excellent yields using catalytic amounts of cerium (IV) ammonium nitrate (CAN) in water. This inexpensive, nontoxic, and readily available catalytic system (5 mol%) in water efficiently catalyzes the condensation reaction of various 1,2-diketones and 1,2-diamines. Several aromatic as well as aliphatic 1,2-diketones and aromatic 1,2-diamines such as substituted phenylene diamines, and tetra amines were further subjected to condensation using catalytic amounts of CAN to yield the products in excellent yield. Besides this, ambient conditions, excellent product yields and water as a universal solvent display both economic and environmental advantages.