Bismuth (III) Chloride Catalyzed Multicomponent Synthesis of Substituted Hexahydroimidazo[1, 2-a]Pyridines

The synthesis of nitrogen containing heterocycles is of particular interest in the pharmaceutical industry due to the range of biological activities exhibited by such compounds. Their synthesis using multicomponent reactions saves steps and minimizes waste generation. The bismuth (III) chloride multicomponent synthesis of a series of hexahydroimidazo[1, 2- a ]pyridines is reported. Bismuth (III) compounds are especially attractive from a green chemistry perspective because they are remarkably nontoxic, non-corrosive and relatively inexpensive. The reported method avoids chromatography and an aqueous waste stream to afford the products in a very mass efficient manner.