Microwave solvent-free conditions

Paal and Knorr cyelisation [63] of 1, 4-diketone to give pyrroles was speeded up by microwave irradiation. The reaction was carried out under microwave solvent-free conditions and was completed within 2 min (Scheme 11.8). R was taken as... 

Gupta et al. reported that the Vilsmeier-Haack cyclisation of acetanilides 20 using supported reagents and microwave-irradiation in solvent-free conditions is rapid and efficient. Reaction yields are good, although only a few activated derivatives have been investigated. 

The synthesis of 4-unsubstituted DHPs in a focused microwave reactor has been reported using alkyl acetoacetates and hexamethylenetetramine 19 as the source of both formaldehyde and ammonia, with additional ammonium acetate to maintain the stoichiometry [57], Irradiation for 100 s under solvent-free conditions gave, for example, 1,4-DHP 20 in 63% isolated yield (Scheme 5). 

This transformation can also be carried out under solvent-free conditions in a domestic oven using acidic alumina and ammoniiun acetate, with or without a primary amine, to give 2,4,5-trisubstituted or 1,2,4,5-tetrasubstituted imidazoles, respectively (Scheme 15A) [69]. The automated microwave-assisted synthesis of a library of 2,4,5-triarylimidazoles from the corresponding keto-oxime has been carried out by irradiation at 200 ° C in acetic acid in the presence of ammonium acetate (Scheme 15B) [70]. Under these conditions, thermally induced in situ N - O reduction occurs upon microwave irradiation, to give a diverse set of trisubstituted imidazoles in moderate yield. Parallel synthesis of a 24-membered library of substituted 4(5)-sulfanyl-lff-imidazoles 40 has been achieved by adding an alkyl bromide and base to the reaction of a 2-oxo-thioacetamide, aldehyde and ammonium acetate (Scheme 15C) [71]. Under microwave-assisted conditions, library generation time was dramatically re-... 

Fewer procedures have been explored recently for the synthesis of simple six-membered heterocycles by microwave-assisted MCRs. Libraries of 3,5,6-trisubstituted 2-pyridones have been prepared by the rapid solution phase three-component condensation of CH-acidic carbonyl compounds 44, NJ -dimethylformamide dimethyl acetal 45 and methylene active nitriles 47 imder microwave irradiation [77]. In this one-pot, two-step process for the synthesis of simple pyridones, initial condensation between 44 and 45 under solvent-free conditions was facilitated in 5 -10 min at either ambient temperature or 100 ° C by microwave irradiation, depending upon the CH-acidic carbonyl compound 44 used, to give enamine intermediate 46 (Scheme 19). Addition of the nitrile 47 and catalytic piperidine, and irradiation at 100 °C for 5 min, gave a library of 2-pyridones 48 in reasonable overall yield and high individual purities. 

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. 

Triazoles have been obtained via microwave-assisted [3-i-2] cycloaddition, under solvent-free conditions [54], starting from organic azides and acetylenic amides at 55 °C for 30 min (Scheme 23). The complete conversion of the reagents into AT-substituted-1,2,3-triazoles 69 was achieved without decomposition and side products. A control reaction carried out at the same temperature in an oil bath did not give the cycHc products, not even after 24 h of reaction time. 

Several syntheses of annulated uracils of biological value were recently reported. The key reaction was a microwave-assisted one-pot [4 -i- 2] cycloaddition of oxazino[4,5-d]-, pyrano-[2,3-d]-, pyrido[2,3-dj- and pyrimido[4,5-djpyrimidines, in the sohd state [134] and under solvent-free conditions [135]. The synthetic approach was based on the reaction of NJ -di-methyl-5-formylbarbituric acid 208 with maleimide in the sohd state for 5 min under microwave irradiation at 120 °C to give the pyrano[2,3-d]pyrimi-dine derivative 209 in 90% yield (Scheme 76). The reaction of 208 with phenyl isocyanate under microwave irradiation in the absence of solvent... 

The condensation between enaminones and cyanoacetamide is a well-established method for the synthesis of 2-pyridones (see c, Scheme 2, Sect. 2.1), and the use of malonodinitrile instead of the amide component has also been shown to yield 2-pyridones [39-41]. Recently, Gorobets et al. developed a microwave-assisted modification of this reaction suitable for combinatorial synthesis, as they set out to synthesize a small library of compounds containing a 2-pyridone scaffold substituted at the 3, 5, and 6-positions [42]. The 2-pyridones were prepared by a three-component, two-step reaction where eight different carbonyl building blocks were reacted with N,N-dimethylformamide dimethyl acetal (DMFDMA) to yield enaminones 7 (Fig. 2). The reactions were performed under solvent-free conditions at el-... 

In some cases, no cycloalkylation is observed by the reaction of nitromethane with electron-deficient olefins with cyano and methoxycarbonyl groups. The reaction affords new, highly functionalized cyclohexenes in the presence of catalytic amount of piperidine under solvent-free conditions with focused microwave irradiation (Eq. 7.41).42... 

Microwave irradiation at solvent-free conditions induces pyrazoyl 2-azadienes to undergo Diels-Alder reactions with nitroalkenes, within 5-10 min good yields of pyrazolo[ 3,4-b pyridine s are obtained (see Eq. 8.25).39 Without irradiation the reaction produces only traces of products on classical heating. 

A recent publication by the group of Barbarella has disclosed the rapid preparation of poorly soluble unsubstituted and modified a-quinque- and sexithiophenes by the extensive use of bromination/iodination steps and microwave-assisted Suzuki and Sonogashira cross-couplings (Scheme 6.16) [42]. Suzuki reactions were either carried out under solvent-free conditions on a strongly basic potassium fluoride/ alumina support for the synthesis of soluble oligothiophenes, or in solution phase for the preparation of the rather insoluble a-quinque- and sexithiophenes. In both cases, 5 mol% of [l,l -bis(diphenylphosphino)ferrocene]dichloropalladium(II)... 

Miriyala and Williamson have described the synthesis of /i-kctocarboxam idcs from primary and secondary amines and 2,2-dimethyl-2H,4H-l,3-dioxin-4-ones as reactive a-oxoketene precursors (Scheme 6.158) [304], The experimental procedure involved heating a mixture of the dioxinone with 2-3 equivalents of the amine at ca. 180 °C for 1-3 min under solvent-free conditions in a sealed vessel by microwave irradiation. A small collection of 18 /3-ketocarboxamides was prepared in very high yields using this protocol. 

Scheme 6.186) [347]. The condensation of O-allylic and O-propargylic salicylalde-hydes with a-amino esters was carried out either in the absence of a solvent or - if both components were solids - in a minimal volume of xylene. All reactions performed under microwave conditions rapidly proceeded to completion within a few minutes and typically provided higher yields compared to the corresponding thermal protocols. In the case of intramolecular alkene cycloadditions, mixtures of hexa-hydrochromeno[4,3-b]pyrrole diastereoisomers were obtained, whereas transformations involving alkyne tethers provided chromeno[4,3-b]pyrroles directly after in situ oxidation with elemental sulfur (Scheme 6.186). Independent work by Pospisil and Potacek involved very similar transformations under strictly solvent-free conditions [348]. 

The condensation of enantiomerically pure amino alcohols (derived from amino acids) with aldehydes to furnish 1,3-oxazolidines was studied by Kuhnert and Danks in 2001 (Scheme 6.212) [382], Under solvent-free conditions, microwave irradiation of equimolar mixtures of the amino alcohol and the aldehyde for less than 3 min provided high isolated yields of 1,3-oxazolidines with excellent diastereoselectivity. In the case of (-)-ephedrine, prolonged microwave irradiation (3 min) produced quantitative conversions and high diastereoselectivities. For shorter irradiation times (80 s) mixtures of the two diastereomers were obtained with moderate conversions. 

The 1,3-dipolar cycloaddition of azides to alkynes is a versatile route to 1,2,3-tri-azoles. Different combinations of substituents on the azide and on the alkyne allow the preparation of diverse N-substitutcd 1,2,3-triazoles. Katritzky and Singh have described the synthesis of C-carbamoyl-1,2,3-triazoles by microwave-induced cydoaddition of benzyl azides to acetylenic amides (Scheme 6.220) [393]. Employing equimolar mixtures of the azide and alkyne under solvent-free conditions, the authors were able to achieve good to excellent isolated product yields by microwave heating at 55-85 °C for 30 min. In general, the triazole products were obtained as mixtures of regioisomers. Control experiments carried out under thermal (oil bath)... 

In Scheme 6.230, the multistep synthesis of 2,3-dihydro-4-pyridones is highlighted [411]. The pathway described by Panunzio and coworkers starts from a dioxin-4-one precursor, which is readed with 2 equivalents of benzyl alcohol under solvent-free microwave conditions to furnish the corresponding /1-diketo benzyl esters. Subsequent treatment with 1 equivalent of N,N-dimethylformamide dimethyl acetal (DMFDMA), again under solvent-free conditions, produces an enamine, which is then cyclized with an amine building block (1.1 equivalents) to produce the desired 4-pyridinone produds. All microwave protocols were conducted under open-vessel conditions using power control. 

The sodium bromide catalyzed three-component cyclocondensation of aryl aldehydes, CH-acidic nitriles, and dimedone under solvent-free conditions has been studied by Devi and Bhuyan (Scheme 6.245) [429]. Utilizing equimolar amounts of the building blocks and 20 mol% of sodium bromide as catalyst, microwave irradia-... 

A very interesting approach toward solid-supported synthesis under microwave heating was introduced by Chandrasekhar and coworkers [64], The authors developed a synthesis of N-alkyl imides on a solid phase under solvent-free conditions employing tantalum(V) chloride-doped silica gel as a Lewis acid catalyst (Scheme 7.53). 

Other methodologies feature solvent-free conditions with neat starting material, tandem or cascade, catalyzed or uncatalyzed reactions, the use of aqueous media at high temperature and nonextractive techniques for product isolation. Examples appear among the following microwave-assisted applications. 

The Jacobs-Gould intramolecular cyclization of diethyl N-(6-methyl-2-pyridyl)amino-methylenemalonate to 3-ethoxycarbonyl-7-methyl-l,8-naphthyrid-4-one is another reaction ideally suited to microwave heating, although conductively heated equipment was employed for laboratory-scale experiments [45]. The product is a key intermediate in the synthesis of nalidixic acid, the first of the quinolone antibacterials. The process usually is conducted at temperatures of 200-250 °C and in high dilution, with heat transfer oils such as the eutectic mixture of diphenyl ether and biphenyl. However, it proceeded rapidly, predictably and controllably under solvent-free conditions. 

Most of these publications describe important accelerations of a wide range of organic reactions especially when performed under solvent-free conditions. The combination of solvent-free reaction conditions and microwave irradiation leads to large reductions in reaction times, enhancement of yield, and, sometimes [3, 4] in selectivity with several advantages of an eco-friendly approach, termed green chemistry . 

More recently [29] the microwave-mediated Biginelli dihydropyrimidine synthesis (Eq. 2) was reinvestigated using a purpose-built commercial microwave reactor with on-line temperature, pressure, and microwave power control. Transformations performed with microwave heating at atmospheric pressure in ethanol solution resulted in neither a rate increase nor an increase in yield when the temperature was identical to that used for conventional thermal heating. The only significant rate and yield enhancements were found when the reaction was performed under solvent-free conditions in an open system. 

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