In this work, some novel sulfonic acid functionalized imidazolium salts (SAFIS), as a new
category of ionic liquids, are synthesized by eco-friendly and simple procedures, and used
as highly ef?cient and reusable catalysts to promote the following one-pot multicomponent
organic transformations under solvent-free conditions: (i) the synthesis of 14-aryl14H-dibenzo[a,j]xanthenes
from b-naphthol (2 eq.) and arylaldehydes (1 eq.), (ii) the
preparation of tetrahydrobenzo[a]xanthene-11-ones from b-naphthol, arylaldehydes and
dimedone, and (iii) the synthesis of 1,8-dioxo-octahydroxanthenes from dimedone (2 eq.)
and aromatic aldehydes (1 eq.). Environmentally benign, simple methodologies, easy
workup procedure, clean reaction, short reaction time, high yield and easy preparation of
the catalysts are some advantages ofthis work.