KI mediated one-pot cascade reaction for synthesis of 1,3,4-selenadiazoles

An efficient catalytic system consisting of KI and K(2)S(2)O(8) for a one-pot pseudo three-component cascade reaction in the preparation of a diverse array of 1,3,4-selenadiazole derivatives from easily accessible precursors aldehydes, hydrazine and elemental selenium is demonstrated in this paper. Here, KI is used as the surrogate of iodine and K(2)S(2)O(8) as the oxidant. The key advantages of this protocol include an easy reaction set up, operational simplicity, high functional group tolerance and utilisation of low toxicity chemicals. Further, a radical quenching reaction was also performed to confirm the mechanistic pathway.