Abstract The present work deals with the green solar assisted synthesis of chalcone (3-(4-fluorophenyl)-1-(4-methoxyphenyl)-prop-2-en-1-one). To check the efficacy of the process, chalcone has been synthesized by photochemical (UV radiation), thermal method (60 °C) and the conventional method. The effect of catalyst concentration and temperature on the yield of the product has been studied. The synthesized chalcone derivative was characterised using Fourier Transform Infrared (FTIR) Spectroscopy, Liquid chromatography–mass spectrometry (LCMS) elemental analysis, X-ray diffraction analysis (XRD) and thermal analysis (TG/DTA). The time required for the completion of the reaction using solar assisted method and conventional method were 10 min and 240 min (4 h), respectively. The crystallinity of material produced using concentrated solar radiation (CSR) was 14.16% higher than the conventional method. The amount of energy required to produce chalcone using CSR is 90.37% less energy than the conventional method. CSR was found to be green, simple and energy efficient novel idea for the synthesis of chalcone.