Organocatalyzed Heterocyclic Transformations In Green Media: A Review

Background: Since the discovery of metal-free catalysts or organocatalysts about twenty years ago, a number of small molecules with different structures have been using to accelerate organic transformations. With the development of environmental awareness, in order to obtain highly privileged scaffolds, scientists have directed their studies towards the synthetic methodologies which minimize or preferably eliminate the formation of waste, avoid from toxic solvents and reagents and use renewable starting materials as far as possible. Methods: In this connection, the organocatalytic reactions providing efficiency and selectivity for most of case have become an endless topic in organic chemistry since several advantages from both practical and environmental standpoints. Organocatalysts supplying transformation of reactants into products with the least possible waste production have been serving to the concept of green chemistry. Results and Conclusion: Organocatalysts have been classified on the basis of their binding capacity to the substrate with covalently or noncovalent interactions involving hydrogen bonding and electrostatic interaction. Diverse types of small organic compounds including proline and its derivatives, phase-transfer catalysts, (thio)urease, phosphoric acids, sulfones, N-oxides, guanidines, cinchona derivatives, aminoindanol and amino acids have been utilized as hydrogen bonding organocatalysts in different chemical transformations.