In the present work, the use of Brønsted acidic ionic liquids (BAIL) as catalysts for Groebke‐Blackburn‐Bienaymé (GBB) multicomponent reactions was systematically investigated. A series of four 1‐(butyl‐4‐sulfonic)‐3‐methylimidazolium salts bearing different anions was easily prepared and screened as acidic catalysts for this transformation. The best reaction conditions were stablished as 20 mol % of catalyst [(SO3H)4C4C1Im][OTf] in refluxing EtOH or MeOH under conventional heating and in sealed tube at 150 °C for 1–4 hours under microwave heating, affording a series of imidazo‐fused heterocycles in moderate to excellent yields (42–93 %). The homogeneous BAIL catalyst could be recycled and reused in four consecutive reaction cycles, despite of a laborious recovery procedure employed. This approach represents the first example of a task‐specific reusable homogeneous Brønsted acidic catalyst in GBB reactions and opens new opportunities for the exploration of acidic ionic liquid phases as catalysts for this fascinating multicomponent reaction.
The need of understanding the interactions between small organic molecules and biological targets has stimulated the development of new methodologies for the synthesis of compounds with potential biological properties. In this scenario, multicomponent reactions have been considered as high atom‐efficient strategies which allow the generation of high levels of molecular diversity and complexity, using relatively simple and eco‐friendly experimental procedures. Among the plethora of catalysts used in multicomponent reactions, rare earth metal triflates, especially scandium(III) triflate [Sc(OTf)3], emerged as water‐resistant Lewis acids with remarkable catalytic activity in water‐containing environments. This review describes the recent progress on the use of scandium(III) triflate as Lewis acid catalyst for multicomponent reactions applied to the synthesis of nitrogen‐containing heterocycles, valuable privileged scaffolds in Organic and Medicinal Chemistry.
Improvements in Sustainable Organic Synthesis are usually related to the investigation of less hazardous, non-corrosive and renewable materials, as well as waste prevention, energy efficiency, solvent-free reactions, and the development of efficient reusable catalysts. In this context, multicomponent reactions emerged as important strategies for the rapid and more sustainable synthesis of organic molecules. In addition, the use of task-specific ionic liquids as non-conventional solvents and/or catalysts in multicomponent reactions has recently received great attention, contributing to the development of greener synthetic methodologies. This review describes the studies on the use of structurally diverse homogeneous and heterogeneous sulfonic acid-functionalized task-specific ionic liquids as acidic catalysts for multicomponent reactions applied to the synthesis of nitrogen- and oxygen-based heterocycles, as well as related compounds. The combination of the green credentials of multicomponent reactions and acidic ionic liquids are able to improve process sustainability and green metrics, contributing to sustainable chemical development and, ultimately, to economic growth and cleaner industrial production.
Over the last twenty years, the Groebke-Blackburn-Bienaymé (GBB) reaction has been emerged as a powerful tool to access different nitrogen-based heterocycles as privileged scaffolds in medicinal chemistry. This multicomponent reaction is usually catalyzed by ordinary Brønsted or Lewis acid catalysts. Herein, we present a comparative study on the catalytic efficiencies of different rare earth triflates in GBB reactions under microwave heating, involving 2-aminopyridine or 2-aminothiazole, as aminoazole component, and different aldehydes and aliphatic isocyanides. The use of gadolinium(III) triflate as cheaper alternative catalyst for the most commonly used scandium(III) triflate was acknowledged for the first time, and a library of twenty three imidazo[1,2-a]pyridines and imidazo[2,1-b]thiazoles could be obtained in good to excellent yields.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.