The Henry reaction is an important atom economical reaction for the formation of carbon-carbon bonds, and the obtained β-nitroalcohols with bisfunctional groups are very versatile intermediates which are widely applied in organic synthesis. In this article, with the Henry reaction of benzaldehyde and nitro-methane as the model, the catalytic ability of some weak basic catalysts was explored. The first- and the second-generation polyphenyl ether type dendritic piperidine catalysts, which were characterized by ¹H NMR and MS techniques, were synthesized, and their catalytic abilities were investigated in Henry reaction. The obtained results indicated that the lower generation dendritic piperidine provided preferable catalytic activity in the case of nitromethane, and the higher generation one showed negative dendritic effect.

Key words: Henry reaction, catalysis, dendritic molecule, supported piperidine