NaCl as an eco-friendly and efficient promoter for Knoevenagel condensation at room temperature.

Knoevenagel condensation was optimized through the eco-friendly condition as a binary mixture of ethanol:water (3:7, v/v) associated with NaCl salt as the promoter of the reaction between different aldehydes or isatins and malononitrile at room temperature. Due to its high efficiency and low toxicity, the proposed system provides easy isolation of products by simple filtration and optimal yields ranging between 83 and 97% in a short-time reaction at room temperature. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]