20 Years of Forging N-Heterocycles from Acrylamides through Domino/Cascade Reactions

Abstract

AbstractAcrylamides are versatile building blocks that are easily obtained from readily available starting materials. During the last 20 years, these valuable substrates bearing a nucleophilic nitrogen atom and an electrophilic double bond have proven to be efficient domino partners, leading to a wide variety of complex aza-heterocycles of synthetic relevance. In this non-exhaustive review, metal-free and metal-triggered reactions followed by an annulation will be presented; these two approaches allow good modulation of the reactivity of the polyvalent acrylamides.1 Introduction2 Metal-Free Annulations2.1 Domino Reactions Triggered by a Michael Addition2.2 Domino Reactions Triggered by an Aza-Michael Addition2.3 Domino Processes Triggered by an Acylation Reaction2.4 Domino Reactions Triggered by a Baylis–Hillman Reaction2.5 Cycloadditions and Domino Reactions2.6 Miscellaneous Domino Reactions3 Metal-Triggered/Mediated Annulations3.1 Zinc-Promoted Transformations3.2 Rhodium-Catalyzed Functionalization/Annulation Cascades3.3 Cobalt-Catalyzed Functionalization/Annulation Cascades3.4 Ruthenium-Catalyzed Functionalization/Annulation Cascades3.5 Iron-Catalyzed Functionalization/Annulation Cascades3.6 Palladium-Catalyzed Functionalization/Annulation Cascades3.7 Copper-Catalyzed Transformations3.8 Transition Metals Acting in Tandem in Domino Processes4 Radical Cascade Reactions5 Conclusion