Investigating catalytic pathways: a comparative review of homogeneous and heterogeneous catalysis for 3-aroylimidazo[1,2-a]pyridine synthesis

3-aroylimidazo[1,2-a]pyridines represent a class of derivatives in the imidazo[1,2-a]pyridine family known for their important biological and pharmaceutical activities. Consequently, various methodologies have been designed to simplify the synthesis of this structure, with an emphasis on the use of cost-effective starting materials and environmentally friendly protocols. All the methods developed in recent years (from 2016 to 2023) rely on homogeneous or heterogeneous catalysts. Therefore, we aim to perform a comparative analysis between these two approaches, elucidating their respective advantages and limitations. The first part of this work focuses on techniques employing homogeneous catalysts, followed by the next section devoted to heterogeneous catalysts. This comprehensive review should be of substantial interest to researchers in the fields of organic and medicinal chemistry, as it provides a valuable resource for their research.

Cu Species-Modified OMS-2 Materials for Enhancing Ozone Catalytic Decomposition under Humid Conditions

Manganese oxide octahedral molecular sieves (OMS-2) exhibit an excellent performance in ozone catalytic decomposition in dry atmosphere conditions, which however is severely limited by deactivation in humid conditions. Herein, it was found that the OMS-2 materials modified with Cu species could obviously improve both the ozone decomposition activity and water resistance. Based on the characterization results, it was found that these CuO_x/OMS-2 catalysts exhibited dispersed CuO_x nanosheets attached and located at the external surface accompanied with ionic Cu species entering the MnO₆ octahedral framework of OMS-2. In addition, it was demonstrated that the main reason for the promotion of ozone catalytic decomposition could be ascribed to the combined effect of different Cu species in these catalysts. On the one hand, ionic Cu entered the MnO₆ octahedral framework of OMS-2 near the catalyst surface and substituted ionic Mn species, resulting in an enhanced mobility of surface oxygen species and formation of more oxygen vacancies, which act as the active sites for ozone decomposition. On the other hand, the CuO_x nanosheets could serve as non-oxygen vacancy sites for H₂O adsorption, which could alleviate the catalyst deactivation to some extent caused by the occupancy of H₂O on surface oxygen vacancies. Finally, different reaction pathways for ozone catalytic decomposition over OMS-2 and CuO_x/OMS-2 under humid conditions were proposed. The findings in this work may shed new light on the design of highly efficient catalysts for ozone decomposition with improved water resistance.

Supported Metal Catalysts for the Synthesis of N-Heterocycles

Nitrogen-containing heterocycles are important scaffolds for a large number of compounds with biological, pharmaceutical, industrial and optoelectronic applications. A wide range of different methodologies for the preparation of N-heterocycles are based on metal-catalyzed cyclization of suitable substrates. Due to the growing interest in Green Chemistry criteria over the past two decades, the use of supported metal catalysts in the preparation of N-heterocycles has become a central topic in Organic Chemistry. Here we will give a critical overview of all the solid supported metal catalysts applied in the synthesis of N-heterocycles, following a systematic approach as a function of the type of support: (i) metal catalysts supported on inorganic matrices; (ii) metal catalysts supported on organic matrices; (iii) metal catalysts supported on hybrid inorganic-organic matrices. In particular, we will try to emphasize the effective heterogeneity and recyclability of the described metal catalysts, specifying which studies were carried out in order to evaluate these aspects.

Enhanced Performance of the OMS-2-Supported CuOx Catalysts for Carbon Monoxide, Ethyl Acetate, and Toluene Oxidation

Different Cu contents (x wt%) were supported on the cryptomelane-type manganese oxide octahedral molecular sieve (OMS-2) (xCu/OMS-2; x = 1, 5, 15, and 20) via a pre-incorporation method. Physicochemical properties of the OMS-2 and xCu/OMS-2 samples were characterized by means of the XRD, FT-IR, SEM, TG/DTG, ICP-OES, XPS, O2-TPD, H2-TPR, and in situ DRIFTS techniques, and their catalytic activities were measured for the oxidation of CO, ethyl acetate, and toluene. The results show that the Cu species were homogeneously dispersed in the tunnel and framework structure of OMS-2. Among all of the samples, 15Cu/OMS-2 sample exhibited the best activities with the T50% of 65, 165, and 240 °C as well as the T90% of 85, 215, and 290 °C for CO, ethyl acetate and toluene oxidation, respectively, which was due to the existence of the Cu species and Mn3+/Mn4+ redox couples, rich oxygen vacancies, good oxygen mobility, low-temperature reducibility, and strong interaction between the Cu species and the OMS-2 support. The reaction mechanisms were also deduced by analyzing the in situ DRIFTS spectra of the 15Cu/OMS-2 sample. The excellent oxygen mobility associated with the electron transfer between Cu species and Mn3+/Mn4+ redox couples might be conducive to the continuous replenishment of active oxygen species and the constantly generated reactant intermediates, thereby increasing the reactant reaction rate.

Preparation and characterization of Pd supported on 5-carboxyoxindole functionalized cell@Fe3O4 nanoparticles as a novel magnetic catalyst for the Heck reaction

Pd supported on 5-carboxyoxindole functionalized cell@Fe₃O₄ nanoparticles (Pd@CAI@cell@Fe₃O₄), a new magnetic nanocatalyst, was prepared and characterized using inductively coupled plasma atomic emission spectroscopy, Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, transmission electron microscopy, thermogravimetric analysis, and energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy techniques. The synthesized nanocatalyst (Pd@CAI@cell@Fe₃O₄) was employed for Heck-type arylation of different substituted maleimides with iodoarenes in good to excellent yields. This green catalyst was easily recovered and reused several times with no substantial loss of activity, providing a clean and efficient synthetic procedure with excellent yield and reduced time.

Annulation of Conjugated Azine-Imine with a Sulfoxonium Ylide in a Noncarbenoid Route to Synthesize Multisubstituted Imidazole-Fused Heterocycles

A new [4+1]-annulation of in situ generated heterocyclic azine-aldimines with β-keto sulfoxonium ylides has been developed. The reaction constructs N-fused imidazole rings. In the reaction, the ylides play a dual-functional role of a nucleophilic 1,1-dipolar one-carbon synthon and a source of an internal oxidant, dimethyl sulfoxide, that promotes in situ dehydrogenation to product scaffolds. The method enables access to imidazo-pyridine, pyrazine, and pyrimidine heteroaromatics.

Selectivity-tunable oxidation of tetrahydro-β-carboline over an OMS-2 composite catalyst: preparation and catalytic performance

Controlling the reaction selectivity of organic transformations without losing high conversion is always a challenge in catalytic processes. In this work, a H3PO4·12WO3/OMS-2 nanocomposite catalyst ([PW]-OMS-2) was prepared through the oxidation of a Mn(ii) salt with sodium phosphotungstate by KMnO4. Comprehensive characterization indicates that different Mn2+ precursors significantly affected the crystalline phase and morphology of the as-synthesized catalysts and only MnSO4·H2O as the precursor could lead to a cryptomelane phase. Moreover, [PW]-OMS-2 demonstrated excellent catalytic activity toward aerobic oxidative dehydrogenation of tetrahydro-β-carbolines due to mixed crystalline phases, enhanced surface areas, rich surface oxygen vacancies and labile lattice oxygen species. In particular, β-carbolines and 3,4-dihydro-β-carbolines could be obtained from tetrahydro-β-carbolines with very high selectivity (up to 99%) over [PW]-OMS-2 via tuning the reaction solvent and temperature. Under the present catalytic system, scalable synthesis of a β-carboline was achieved and the composite catalyst showed good stability and recyclability. This work not only clarified the structure-activity relationship of the catalyst, but also provided a practical pathway to achieve flexible, controllable synthesis of functional N-heterocycles.

Transition element doped octahedral manganese molecular sieves (Me-OMS-2) as diclofenac adsorbents

Diclofenac (DCF) control measures have become an area of increased interest for environmental researchers due to the high environmental concentration and risk of DCF. Adsorption seems to be promising for DCF removal from the aqueous phase because of its specific superiority in comparison with biodegradation, membrane separation, and advanced oxidation or reduction. In this study, OMS-2 and metal-doped OMS-2 ((Me-OMS-2, with Me = Co, Cu or Ce) were prepared and tested as adsorbents for the removal of DCF. It was evident that the maximum adsorption capacity and rate of Ce-OMS-2 were much higher than those of the other adsorbents, which could be attributed to its large specific surface area and stereoscopic aperture structure. The experimental data are fitted the pseudo-second-order model, the Elovich equation and the Langmuir model well; moreover, the process is an endothermic and spontaneous thermodynamic process, during which the entropy increased, based on the experimental results, indicating that chemisorption was dominant during the DCF adsorption process onto Ce-OMS-2. By the integral of the peak deconvoluted from the XPS spectrum, the ratio of Mn³⁺/Mn⁴⁺ increased from 0.393 to 0.407, revealing that Mn(IV) is rarely reduced into Mn(III) during the DCF adsorption process.

Optimization of Cu catalysts for nitrophenol reduction, click reaction and alkyne coupling

Earth-abundant nanocatalysts are actively searched to replace expensive noble metal catalysts for a number of essential processes.

Aerobic oxidative dehydrogenation of N-heterocycles over OMS-2-based nanocomposite catalysts: preparation, characterization and kinetic study

OMS-2-based nanocomposites doped with sodium phosphotungstate were prepared and their remarkably enhanced catalytic activity and recyclability in aerobic oxidative dehydrogenation of N-heterocycles were examined in detail.

Recent advances on the transition-metal-catalyzed synthesis of imidazopyridines: an updated coverage

A comprehensive account of recent advances in the synthesis of imidazopyridines, assisted through transition-metal-catalyzed multicomponent reactions, C-H activation/functionalization and coupling reactions are highlighted in this review article. The basic illustration of this review comprises of schemes with concise account of explanatory text. The schemes depict the reaction conditions along with a quick look into the mechanism involved to render a deep understanding of the catalytic role. At some instances optimizations of certain features have been illustrated through tables, i.e., selectivity of catalyst, loading of the catalyst and percentage yield with different substrates. Each of the reported examples has been rigorously analyzed for reacting substrates, reaction conditions and transition metals used as the catalyst. This review will be helpful to the chemists in understanding the challenges associated with the reported methods as well as the future possibilities, both in the choice of substrates and catalysts. This review would be quite appealing to a wider range of organic chemists in academia and industrial R&D sectors working in the field of heterocyclic syntheses. In a nutshell, this review will be a guiding torch to envisage: (i) the role of various transition metals in the domain dedicated towards method development and (ii) for the modifications needed thereof in the R&D sector.

Sonochemically-Promoted Preparation of Silica-Anchored Cyclodextrin Derivatives for Efficient Copper Catalysis

Silica-supported metallic species have emerged as valuable green-chemistry catalysts because their high efficiency enables a wide range of applications, even at industrial scales. As a consequence, the preparation of these systems needs to be finely controlled in order to achieve the desired activity. The present work presents a detailed investigation of an ultrasound-promoted synthetic protocol for the grafting of β-cyclodextrin (β-CD) onto silica. Truly, ultrasound irradiation has emerged as a fast technique for promoting efficient derivatization of a silica surface with organic moieties at low temperature. Three different β-CD silica-grafted derivatives have been obtained, and the ability of β-CD to direct and bind Cu when CD is bonded to silica has been studied. A detailed characterization has been performed using TGA, phenolphthalein titration, FT-IR, diffuse reflectance (DR), DR UV-Vis, as well as the inductively-coupled plasma (ICP) of the β-CD silica-grafted systems and the relative Cu-supported catalysts. Spectroscopic characterization monitored the different steps of the reaction, highlighting qualitative differences in the properties of amino-derivatized precursors and final products. In order to ensure that the Cu-β-CD silica catalyst is efficient and robust, its applicability in Cu(II)-catalyzed alkyne azide reactions in the absence of a reducing agent has been explored. The presence of β-CD and an amino spacer has been shown to be crucial for the reactivity of Cu(II), when supported.

Single-Step Hydrogenolysis of Furfural to 1,2-Pentanediol Using a Bifunctional Rh/OMS-2 Catalyst

Hydrogenolysis of biomass-derived furfural (FFA) to 1,2-pentanediol (1,2-PeD) was investigated using a bifunctional catalyst with basic and metallic sites, which was synthesized by the hydrothermal method. The synthesized catalyst consisting of rhodium (Rh) supported on an octahedral molecular sieve (OMS-2) of different loadings, such as 0.5, 1, and 1.5% w/w, was studied, and 1% (w/w) loading gave the best results. This 1% w/w Rh/OMS-2 catalyst showed excellent catalytic activity and selectivity for the hydrogenolysis reaction because of better dispersion of rhodium, later revealed by characterization. Furthermore, 1% Rh/OMS-2 catalyst was well characterized in virgin and reused states using various techniques such as Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy, NH₃-temperature-programmed desorption (TPD), CO₂-TPD, temperature-programmed reduction, H₂ pulse chemisorption, scanning electron microscopy, high-resolution transmission electron microscopy, X-ray diffraction, Brunauer-Emmett-Teller surface area, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, Raman spectroscopy, and differential scanning calorimetry-thermogravimetry analysis. The catalyst showed a higher surface area of 72 m²/g and the average size of the highly dispersed Rh metal of ∼2 nm. The studies were performed in a batch reactor; the catalyst offered almost 100% conversion of FFA with 87% selectivity to 1,2-PeD at 160 °C and 30 atm hydrogen pressure in 8 h. The reaction mechanism and kinetic model have been developed using a dual-site Langmuir-Hinshelwood-Hougen-Watson mechanism. The activation energies were 12.3 and 27.6 kcal/mol, correspondingly. The catalyst was found to be active, selective, and reusable.

Tuning manganese (III) species in manganese oxide octahedral molecular sieve by interaction with carbon nanofibers for enhanced pollutant degradation in the presence of peroxymonosulfate

The development of environmental-benign, efficient, and durable Mn based catalysts is of great importance for remediation of organic pollutants. In this study, a series of cryptomelane-type octahedral molecular sieve (OMS-2) and carbon nanofibers (CNFs) nanocomposites (OC) were synthesized by a facile refluxing approach under different conditions, and the catalytic activity was evaluated for Acid Orange 7 degradation under neutral conditions via peroxymonosulfate activation. It was revealed that the composites were more efficient than the pure OMS-2 and CNFs, due to the higher amounts of Mn(II) and Mn(III) species and the synergistic effects between OMS-2 and CNFs. The OC catalysts presented long-term stability without the leaching of Mn ions during seven consecutive cycles. Radical scavenger and EPR experiments indicated that the low valent Mn species in the composites were oxidized by PMS to produce sulfate radicals to degrade dyes. However, the structure and performance of OC were influenced significantly by CNFs dosage and refluxing time. Under a high CNFs ratio or a long refluxing time, OMS-2 was damaged and lost its catalytic activity completely. This study provides important implications for turning of the valence of Mn species in manganese oxides, and widens the practical applications of the manganese oxides/ carbon materials in wastewater treatment.

Iodine–NH4OAc mediated regioselective synthesis of 2-aroyl-3-arylimidazo[1,2-a]pyridines from 1,3-diaryl-prop-2-en-1-ones

An efficient, metal-free regioselective synthesis of 2-aroyl-3-arylimidazo[1,2-a]pyridines from 1,3-diaryl-prop-2-en-1-ones has been developed by their reaction with 2-aminopyridine in the presence of I₂/NH₄OAc.

Heterogeneous oxidative synthesis of quinazolines over OMS-2 under ligand-free conditions

OMS-2 is employed to synthesize heterocycles through selective oxidation without the help of ligands.

OMS-2-Supported Cu Hydroxide-Catalyzed Benzoxazoles Synthesis from Catechols and Amines via Domino Oxidation Process at Room Temperature

In the presence of manganese oxide octahedral molecular sieve (OMS-2) supported copper hydroxide Cu(OH)_x/OMS-2, aerobic synthesis of benzoxazoles from catechols and amines via domino oxidation/cyclization at room temperature is achieved. This heterogeneous benzoxazoles synthesis initiated by the efficient oxidation of catechols over Cu(OH)_x/OMS-2 tolerates a variety of substrates, especially amines containing sensitive groups (hydroxyl, cyano, amino, vinyl, ethynyl, ester, and even acetyl groups) and heterocycles, which affords functionalized benzoxazoles in good to excellent yields by employing low catalyst loading (2 mol % Cu). The characterization and plausible catalytic mechanism of Cu(OH)_x/OMS-2 are described. The notable features of our catalytic protocol such as the use of air as the benign oxidant and EtOH as the solvent, mild conditions, ease of product separation, being scalable up to the gram level, and superior reusability of catalyst (up to 10 cycles) make it more practical and environmentally friendly for organic synthesis.

The effect of acid/alkali treatment on the catalytic combustion activity of manganese oxide octahedral molecular sieves

The acid and alkali treated OMS-2 catalysts were prepared and evaluated as the catalysts for DME and toluene combustion.

Indium-based metal–organic frameworks as catalysts: synthesis of 2-nitro-3-arylimidazo[1,2-a]pyridines via oxidative amination under air using MIL-68(In) as an effective heterogeneous catalyst

The metal–organic framework MIL-68(In) has emerged as a productive heterogeneous catalyst for the synthesis of 2-nitro-3-arylimidazo[1,2-a]pyridines via oxidative amination between 2-aminopyridines and nitroalkenes using air as an oxidation agent.

The ethanol mediated-CeO2-supported low loading ruthenium catalysts for the catalytic wet air oxidation of butyric acid

The Ru/CeO₂-A catalyst shows the higher activity for CWAO of butyric acid because of the adding of absolute ethanol.

Probing the thermal-enhanced catalytic activity of CO oxidation over Pd/OMS-2 catalysts

An elevating calcination temperature within 500 °C lead to the spill-over of the palladium, the increase of surface palladium abundance and catalytic activity. Phase transformation of OMS-2 and deactivation of the catalyst happened above 500 °C.

Influence of Ru precursors on the activity of Ru/Al2O3–TiO2 catalysts for catalytic wet air oxidation of high concentration organic compounds

The nature of the Ru precursors affected the performance of Ru catalysts with those prepared from chloride-free Ru precursors being more active than those prepared from chlorine-containing Ru precursors.