The unstirred reactions of ammonium carbonate and phosphate with salicylaldehyde yielded varying amounts of hydrosalicylamide (III) depending upon molar ratio (1:1 to 1:4) and the reaction medium (water/methanol). Under similar conditions ammonium bicarbonate and acetate afforded a mixture of (III) and tricyclobenzoxine (IV) when the salts and aldehyde were treated in 1:3 and 1:4 molar ratio respectively. When these reactions were repeated in the ultrasonic bath, only (III) was obtained under these conditions. Sonication generally improved the yield of (III) and significantly reduced the duration of the reactions.


S KHAN ,A EHSAN ,C M ASHRAF ,S S ALI ,