A Tandem, Bicatalytic Continuous Flow Cyclopropanation-Homo-Nazarov-Type Cyclization

Flow Chemistry for Cycloaddition Reactions

Continuous flow reactors form part of a rapidly growing research area that has changed the way synthetic chemistry is performed not only in academia but also at the industrial level. This Review highlights the most recent advances in cycloaddition reactions performed in flow systems. Cycloadditions are atom-efficient transformations for the synthesis of carbo- and heterocycles, involved in the construction of challenging skeletons of complex molecules. The main advantages of translating these processes into flow include using intensified conditions, safer handling of hazardous reagents and gases, easy tuning of reaction conditions, and straightforward scaling up. These benefits are especially important in cycloadditions such as the copper(I)-catalyzed azide alkyne cycloaddition (CuAAC), Diels-Alder reaction, ozonolysis and [2+2] photocycloadditions. Some of these transformations are key reactions in the industrial synthesis of pharmaceuticals.

Continuous Flow Synthesis of Heterocycles: A Recent Update on the Flow Synthesis of Indoles

Indole derivatives are among the most useful and interesting heterocycles employed in drug discovery and medicinal chemistry. In addition, flow chemistry and flow technology are changing the synthetic paradigm in the field of modern synthesis. In this review, the role of flow technology in the preparation of indole derivatives is showcased. Selected examples have been described with the aim to provide readers with an overview on the tactics and technologies used for targeting indole scaffolds.

Amine-Functionalized Sugarcane Bagasse: A Renewable Catalyst for Efficient Continuous Flow Knoevenagel Condensation Reaction at Room Temperature

A biomass-based catalyst with amine groups (–NH₂), viz., amine-functionalized sugarcane bagasse (SCB-NH₂), was prepared through the amination of sugarcane bagasse (SCB) in a two-step process. The physicochemical properties of the catalyst were characterized through FT-IR, elemental analysis, XRD, TG, and SEM-EDX techniques, which confirmed the –NH₂ group was grafted onto SCB successfully. The catalytic performance of SCB-NH₂ in Knoevenagel condensation reaction was tested in the batch and continuous flow reactions. Significantly, it was found that the catalytic performance of SCB-NH₂ is better in flow system than that in batch system. Moreover, the SCB-NH₂ presented an excellent catalytic activity and stability at the high flow rate. When the flow rate is at the 1.5 mL/min, no obvious deactivation was observed and the product yield and selectivity are more than 97% and 99% after 80 h of continuous reaction time, respectively. After the recovery of solvent from the resulting solution, a white solid was obtained as a target product. As a result, the SCB-NH₂ is a promising catalyst for the synthesis of fine chemicals by Knoevenagel condensation reaction in large scale, and the modification of the renewable SCB with –NH₂ group is a potential avenue for the preparation of amine-functionalized catalytic materials in industry.

RhII -Catalyzed β-C(sp2 )-H Alkylation of Enol Ethers, Enamides and Enecarbamates with α-Diazo Dicarbonyl Compounds

A Rh^II -catalyzed method for intermolecular alkylation of the β-C(sp² )-H bond of enol ethers, enamides, and enecarbamates with α-diazo-1,3-dicarbonyl compounds is reported. The products are formed in up to 99 % yield and can be readily derivatized under a variety of conditions. By utilizing a combination of experimental and computational studies, the presumptive addition-elimination reaction mechanism was investigated and found to proceed under thermodynamic control at higher temperature. The acquired fundamental knowledge was translated into a strategic reaction design and yielded the first example of the β-C-H functionalizations of acyclic enol ethers using α-diazo-1,3-dicarbonyl compounds.

Recent Progress on Nazarov Cyclizations: The Use of Iron Salts as Catalysts in Ionic Liquid Solvent Systems

Nazarov cyclization is an important and versatile method for the synthesis of five-membered carbocycles, and extensive studies have been conducted to optimize the reaction. Among recent studies, several trends are recognized. One is the combination of different reactions with Nazarov cyclization in a one-pot reaction system which enables the preparation of unique cyclization products. The second is the use of a transition-metal catalyst, though Lewis or Brønsted acids have generally been used for the reaction. The third is the realization of the asymmetric Nazarov cyclization. The fourth is the base-catalyzed Nazarov cyclization. Furthermore, several useful protocols for realizing Nazarov cyclization have also been developed. The recent progress on Nazarov cyclizations is summarized in Section 2. Section 3 is our chronicle in this field. We focused on the use of iron as the catalyst in Nazarov cyclizations and ionic liquids as solvents: Nazarov cyclization of thiophene derivatives using FeCl3 as the catalyst was accomplished and we succeeded in demonstrating the first example of an iron-catalyzed asymmetric Nazarov reaction. We next established Nazarov cyclization of pyrrole or indole derivatives using Fe(ClO4 )3 ·Al2 O3 as the catalyst with high trans selectivities in excellent yields. Since the cyclized product was reacted with a vinyl ketone in the presence of the same iron salt, the system allowed realization of the sequential type of Nazarov/Michael reaction of pyrrole derivatives. Furthermore, we demonstrated the recyclable use of the iron catalyst and obtained the desired Nazarov/Michael reaction products in good yields for five repetitions of the reactions without any addition of the catalyst using an ionic liquid, [bmim][NTf2 ], as the solvent. We expect that the iron-catalyzed Nazarov cyclization, in particular, in an ionic liquid solvent might become a useful method to synthesize functional molecules that include cycloalkene moieties.

An innovation for development of Erlenmeyer–Plöchl reaction and synthesis of AT-130 analogous: a new application of continuous-flow method

The first micro-flow Erlenmeyer–Plöchl azlactone reaction and synthesis of N-benzoylglycine carbamide were established.