Recent Advances in Multicomponent Reactions Catalysed under Operationally Heterogeneous Conditions

Multicomponent reactions (MCRs) have been gaining significance and attention over the past decade because of their ability to furnish complex products by using readily available and simple starting materials while simultaneously eliminating the need to separate and purify any intermediates. More so, most of these products have been found to exhibit diverse biological activities. Another paradigm shift which has occurred contemporarily is the switch to heterogeneous catalysis, which results in additional benefits such as the reduction of waste and an increase in the safety of the process. More importantly, it allows the user to recover and reuse the catalyst for multiple runs. In summary, both methodologies adhere to the principles of green chemistry, a philosophy which needs to become overarchingly enshrined. The plethora of reactions and catalysts which have been developed gives hope that chemists are slowly changing their ideology. As a result, this review attempts to discuss multicomponent reactions catalysed by operationally heterogeneous catalysts in the past 10 years. In this review, a further distinction is made between the MCRs which lead to the formation of heterocycles and those which do not.

Ultra-fast Cu-based A3-coupling catalysts: faceted Cu2O microcrystals as efficient catalyst-delivery systems in batch and flow conditions

Cu(I) catalysts were studied for the synthesis of a propargylamine via A3-coupling of aldehyde, amine, and alkyne, under solvent-free and low loading conditions, using batch microwave or flow thermal heating. We explored ultra-low loading conditions with Cu(I) salts as fast and active catalysts featuring turnover frequencies (TOFs) above 105 h−1. Well-defined octahedral and cubic Cu2O microcrystals were also successfully applied and compared with this reaction. Both types of microcrystals exhibited excellent catalytic activities within minutes, via in situ generation of low dose of Cu(I) ions within the reaction medium, to achieve TON beyond 2000 and recycling up to 10 times in a flow reactor. The study of the catalytic system demonstrated that the activity was surface-structure dependent and allowed for the design of low Cu contamination A3-coupling systems, affording a product at the decigram scale, with Cu contamination below FDA recommendations for drug synthesis, without the need for a purification procedure.

One-pot multicomponent nitro-Mannich reaction using a heterogeneous catalyst under solvent-free conditions

An environmentally-friendly, one-pot multicomponent reaction of various aldehydes, amines and nitroalkanes for the synthesis of β-nitroamines is here described. Amberlyst A-21 supported CuI was found to be a highly efficient novel heterogeneous catalyst for the three-component nitro-Mannich reaction between aldehydes, amines and nitroalkanes. The developed protocol is performed in a solvent-free medium to produce a variety of β-nitroamines in good to excellent yields within short reaction times. The catalyst can be easily prepared and recovered. It has been tested up to eight times with only a minor activity loss.

Synthesis and Reactivity of Propargylamines in Organic Chemistry

Propargylamines are a versatile class of compounds which find broad application in many fields of chemistry. This review aims to describe the different strategies developed so far for the synthesis of propargylamines and their derivatives as well as to highlight their reactivity and use as building blocks in the synthesis of chemically relevant organic compounds. In the first part of the review, the different synthetic approaches to synthesize propargylamines, such as A³ couplings and C-H functionalization of alkynes, have been described and organized on the basis of the catalysts employed in the syntheses. Both racemic and enantioselective approaches have been reported. In the second part, an overview of the transformations of propargylamines into heterocyclic compounds such as pyrroles, pyridines, thiazoles, and oxazoles, as well as other relevant organic derivatives, is presented.

Solvent-Free Henry and Michael Reactions with Nitroalkanes Promoted by Potassium Carbonate as a Versatile Heterogeneous Catalyst

The use of a simple weak inorganic base such as potassium carbonate facilitated the formation of carbon-carbon bonds through both the Henry and the Michael reactions with nitrocompounds. The application of this catalyst under environmentally friendly solventless heterogeneous conditions gave satisfactory to good yields of β-nitroalcohols, involving aliphatic and aromatic starting materials, as well as high to excellent yields in the formation of Michael adducts using several different Michael acceptors and nitroalkanes.

Aza-Michael Mono-addition Using Acidic Alumina under Solventless Conditions

Aza-Michael reactions between primary aliphatic and aromatic amines and various Michael acceptors have been performed under environmentally-friendly solventless conditions using acidic alumina as a heterogeneous catalyst to selectively obtain the corresponding mono-adducts in high yields. Ethyl acrylate was the main acceptor used, although others such as acrylonitrile, methyl acrylate and acrylamide were also utilized successfully. Bi-functional amines also gave the mono-adducts in good to excellent yields. Such compounds can serve as intermediates for the synthesis of anti-cancer and antibiotic drugs.

Diversity oriented synthesis of β-carbolinone and indolo-pyrazinone analogues based on an Ugi four component reaction and subsequent cyclisation of the resulting indole intermediate

One pot two step synthesis of β-carbolinone and indolo-pyrazinone analogues via acid mediated cyclisation of Ugi intermediate has been developed with a wide substrate scope.

Zn(ii) anchored onto the magnetic natural hydroxyapatite (ZnII/HAP/Fe3O4): as a novel, green and recyclable catalyst for A3-coupling reaction towards propargylamine synthesis under solvent-free conditions

In this paper, Zn(ii) anchored onto the magnetic natural hydroxyapatite (Zn^II/HAP/Fe₃O₄), as a new and magnetically recoverable catalyst, was prepared and characterized using different techniques such as FT-IR, XRD, TGA, TEM, EDX, VSM and ICP.

Copper(ii) carboxymethylcellulose (CMC-CuII) as an efficient catalyst for aldehyde–alkyne–amine coupling under solvent-free conditions

A novel heterogeneous Cu(ii) carboxymethylcellulose catalyst was prepared and successfully employed in the A3 coupling without using any co-catalyst, other additives, bases under solvent-free conditions.