ZrOCl2·8H2O as an environmentally friendly and recyclable catalyst for the chemoselective synthesis of 2-aryloxazolines and bis-oxazolines under thermal conditions and microwave irradiation

The reactions of arylnitriles with β-aminoalcohols to prepare 2-aryloxazolines has been efficiently carried out in the presence of catalytic amounts of ZrOCl2·8H2O using heat or microwave irradiation. Synthesis of mono- and bis-oxazolines from dicyanobenzenes was accomplished with high selectivity using this catalyst. Chemoselective conversion of arylnitriles to their corresponding 2-oxazolines in the presence of alkylnitriles was also achieved by this method. The use of ZrOCl2·8H2O catalyst is feasible because of its easy availability, easy handling, stability, easy recovery, reusability, good activity and eco-friendly.