Abstract

Molecular iodine has established itself as an efficient catalyst in organic synthesis to attain several organic transformations. Domino reactions involve the synthesis of a target molecule in a single step where three or more components are reacting simultaneously. Thus these types of domino reactions are carried out in the presence of iodine as a catalyst. They have more significance and are fascinating in organic synthesis. The use of molecular iodine as catalyst in various domino reactions along with the recent patents is discussed in this review.

Keywords: Biginelli reaction, domino reaction, imino-Diels-Alder (Povarov) reaction, Mannich reaction, Michael reaction and molecular iodine.