Microwave inorganic supported reagent

High pressure in microreactors is often solved using diy media or media without solvents. This process starts hy adsorption of reagents or catalyst on one or more inorganic supports transparent to microwaves, such as silicates, alumosilicates or clays, or acts as a strong absorber of microwaves such as graphite. 

The synthesis of imidazoles is another reaction where the assistance of microwaves has been intensely investigated. Apart from the first synthesis described since 1995 [40-42], recently a combinatorial synthesis of 2,4,5-trisubstituted and 1,2,4,5-tetrasubstituted imidazoles has been described on inorganic solid support imder solvent-free conditions [43]. Different aldehydes and 1,2 dicarbonyl compounds 42 (mainly benzil and analogues) were reacted in the presence of ammonium acetate to give the trisubstituted ring 43. When a primary amine was added to the mixture, the tetrasubstituted imidazoles were obtained (Scheme 13). The reaction was done by adsorption of the reagent on a solid support, such as silica gel, alumina, montmorillonite KIO, bentonite or alumina followed by microwave irradiation for 20 min in an open vial (multimode reactor). The authors observed that when a non-acid support was used, addition of acetic acid was necessary to obtain good yields of the products. 

Most of the parallel reactions described in Schemes 4.23 and 4.24 were performed as dry-media reactions, in the absence of any solvent. In many cases, the starting materials and/or reagents were supported on an inorganic solid support, such as silica gel, alumina, or clay, that absorbs microwave energy or acts as a catalyst for the reaction (see also Section 4.1). In this context, an interesting method for the optimization of silica-supported reactions has been described [83], The reagents were co-spotted neat or in solution onto a thin-layer chromatographic (TLC) plate. 

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