Environmentally benign synthesis of heterocyclic compounds by combined microwave-assisted heterogeneous catalytic approaches

Recent advances in the application of heterogeneous catalysis combined with microwave irradiation in the synthesis of heterocyclic compounds are reviewed. While a detailed summary of the different catalysts applied in the synthesis of heterocycles is provided, the work mainly focuses on the heterocyclic compounds and their synthesis and not the preparation or characterization of the catalyst. Due to the large number of N-containing heterocycles, the synthesis of these compounds dominates this account, however, the preparation of other heteroatom containing compounds is also covered in detail. The literature data are summarized based on the size of cycles and the number of heteroatoms in the compounds. Since the major goal of the work is to highlight the environmentally benign and sustainable nature of the combined microwave-assisted heterogeneous catalytic methods, the green aspects of the individual synthetic approaches will be emphasized.