Aquivion PFSA as a Novel Solid and Reusable Acid Catalyst in the Synthesis of 2-Pyrrolidin-2-ones in Flow

A new protocol for the diasteroselective synthesis of pyrrolidin-2-ones 4–14 is presented. Aquivion PFSA effectively catalyzed the diasteroselective nitro-mannich/lactamization cascade reaction between the imine formed from aldehydes 1a–g and amines 2a–b with methyl 3-nitropropanoate 3. The use of flow conditions allow a very efficient waste minimization confirmed by representative green metrics calculations.