Aluminum chloride (AlCl3) efficiently catalyzes one-pot multicomponent condensation of enolizable ketones or alkyl acetoacetates with aldehydes, acetonitrile and acetyl chloride to afford β-acetamido ketone or ester derivatives in high to excellent yields and in relatively short reaction times. Moreover, by this synthetic method, some novel β-acetamido ketones and esters (i.e. one complex structure) are prepared.
