Novel synthesis of 2‐Aminothiazoles via Fe( III )‐Iodine‐catalyzed Hantzsch‐type condensation

A novel iron‐iodine catalyzed one pot synthesis of 2‐aminothiazoles from methyl aryl ketones and thiourea is demonstrated. This protocol can be considered as a catalyzed version of the classical Hantzsch aminothiazole synthesis as it enables the in situ generation of α‐iodoketones in the reaction medium using catalytic amount of iodine leading to Hantzsch condensation with thiourea. The supply of iodine for multiple catalytic cycles is ensured by using catalytic amounts of iron as it enables iodide to iodine oxidation. The generality of this protocol is also well established in this manuscript by synthesizing a variety of 2‐aminothiazoles from different ketones and thiourea.