Three-component synthesis of ferrocene containing 3,4-dihydroquinoxalin-2-amines from 1,2-phenylenediamine, ferrocene carboxaldehyde and isocyanides in the presence of p-toluenesulfonic acid

Quinoxaline is one of the heterocyclic compounds containing nitrogen atom which shows a wide ranging of biological and pharmacological activities such as fungicide, antibacterial, antimalarial, antidepressant. Several methods have been reported in the literature for the synthesis of quinoxaline derivatives. These methods are multistep in nature. In this research, we report the synthesis of some new quinoxaline derivatives containing a ferrocene unit by using a three-component reaction between 1,2-phenylenediamine, ferrocene-carboxaldehyde, and isocyanides in the presence of a catalytic amount of p-toluenesulfonic acid. This approach is an effective, easy and high-yield procedure