Silica-sulfuric acid: a highly efficient catalyst for the synthesis of imidazo[1,2-a]pyridines using trimethysilyl cyanide or cyanohydrins

This Letter describes a novel synthetic approach towards imidazo[1,2-a]pyridines via a three-component condensation using trimethylsilyl cyanide (TMSCN) or cyanohydrins as the source of CN- ions and silica-sulfuric acid as the catalyst. © 2009 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.