Bifunctional solid catalysts for chemoselective hydrogenation–cyclisation–amination cascade reactions of relevance for the synthesis of pharmaceuticals

The benzodiazepines olanzapine and clozapine are nowadays manufactured by a three-step process with a final yield below 50%. An approach to environmentally-friendly intensive processes consists in the development of multifunctional solid catalyst able to catalyze multistep reactions. Here, a bifunctional metal-acid solid catalyst has been prepared and is able to carry out hydrogenation–cyclisation–amination reactions in a cascade process. The catalytic system is illustrated for the synthesis of these important antipsychotics, being an alternative for the current industrial process that requires three steps batch reactions, using mineral acids and bases, and stoichiometric amounts of SnCl2.