Nitroaldol-reaction of aldehydes in the presence of non-activated Mg:Al 2:1 hydrotalcite; a possible new mechanism for the formation of 2-aryl-1,3-dinitropropanes

Commercially available, non-activated 2:1 Mg:Al hydrotalcite catalyzes the nitroaldol reaction between a variety of aromatic and aliphatic aldehydes and simple nitroalkanes such as nitromethane and nitroethane. A new mechanism is proposed for the formation of the 1,3-dinitropropanes. The threo/erythro diastereoselectivity of the nitroethane-adducts was determined by 1H NMR spectroscopy and was found to range from 50:50 to 70:30. The substituents of the aromatic aldehydes influenced the isomer ratio.