A Ce(III)-catalyzed expeditious multicomponent stereoselective synthesis of 3-mercapto-2(1H)-pyridinones

A novel Ce(III)-catalyzed, convenient, expeditious, and diastereoselective synthesis of 3-mercapto-2(1H)-pyridinones via one-pot, [3+2+1] three-component coupling reactions of chalcones, 2-methyl-2-phenyl-1,3-oxathiolan-5-one, and amines is reported. The synthesis involves sequential Michael addition, condensation, and ring transformation. Ambient temperature, operational simplicity, use of an environmentally clean catalyst, high yields, and diastereoselectivity are the key features of the present synthetic protocol.