Heterogenized tungsten complex: an efficient and high yielding catalyst for the synthesis of structurally diverse tetra substituted pyrrole derivatives via four-component assembly

An efficient, high yielding, and expeditious method has been developed for the synthesis of diversity oriented pyrrole derivatives via a four component, one-pot cyclocondensation reaction of amines, aldehydes, alpha-methylene ketones, and nitroalkanes using silica supported tungstic acid as a heterogeneous catalyst for the first time. The scope of the domino reaction is successfully explored toward synthesis of highly aryl-substituted pyrroles. The reaction was conveniently promoted by silica supported tungstic acid and the catalyst could be recovered easily after the reaction and reused without any loss of its catalytic activity. The advantageous features of this methodology are high atom-economy, operational simplicity, shorter reaction time, convergence, and facile automation. (C) 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.