InCl3 as an Efficient Catalyst for Synthesis of Oxazolines under Thermal, Ultrasonic and Microwave Irradiations

Efficient synthesis of 2-oxazolines by the reaction of nitriles with beta-aminoalcohols using InCl3 as catalyst under reflux conditions is reported. This catalyst can be successfully applied to the chemoselective conversion of dicyanobenzenes to their corresponding mono- and bis-oxazolines. The application of ultrasonic and microwave irradiation improved the yields and reduced the reaction times. Another advantage of this catalytic system is its ability to carry out large-scale reactions under ultrasonic and MW irradiations. Alkylnitriles such as acetonitrile was also converted to its corresponding 2-methyloxazoline in the presence of catalytic amounts of InCl3.