JOSHUA BRITTON, JASON E. CAMP*
*Corresponding author
University of Nottingham, School of Chemistry, Nottingham, NG7 2RD, United Kingdom

Abstract

Systems in which one catalyst can activate more than one mechanistically distinct step in a reaction process, multifaceted catalysis (MFC), are an increasingly important method in organic synthesis. A MFC approach allows for the conversion of simple starting materials to added-value compounds, whilst potentially limiting the overall costs in terms of time, expense and waste. This review highlights the utility of a MFC approach by focusing on recent gold multifaceted catalysis (gold-MFC) methods for the synthesis of heterocycles.

INTRODUCTION

Heterocycles are vital to our everyday lives as pharmaceuticals, agrochemicals and in biological processes. To put their importance into perspective, 6/10 of the top selling drugs currently on the market contain a heterocycle (Figure 1) (1). Due to their importance extensive research has been conducted on the synthesis of heterocycles. (2) Owing to collective societal and political pressure, the development of more environmentally friendly processes that limit the amount of overall waste and decrease energy burdens are increasingly important (3). One approach to overcome these challenges that is used extensively in all areas of contemporary synthesis is catalysis (4). A catalyst is a compound that lowers the energy required to effect a chemical reaction, but is not consumed in the reaction and therefore has the potential to be recycled. Herein, we outline recent advances in an important form of catalysis, gold multifaceted catalysis (gold-MFC), in which a gold species activates more than one mechanistically distinct step in a reaction process (Figure 2) (5). A gold-MFC approach allows for the conversion of simple starting materials to added- ...