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One-pot sequential aza-Michael, Staudinger, and aza-Wittig reactions on 1,2-diaza-1,2-dienes (DDs) can afford fully substituted 1,2-diaminoimidazoles. A plausible mechanism for the imidazole core formation involving an intramolecular ring closure of the carbodiimide-derived phosphazene intermediate is given. The reported strategy has sufficient flexibility to allow substituted 1,2-diaminoimidazoles with orthogonal nitrogen-protective groups to be generated from a variety of heterocumulene moieties linked to the DDs skeleton.

By highly efficient, one-pot, three-component reactions, combining one set of 1,2-diaza-1,3-dienes (DDs), primary amines, and isothiocyanates in a different sequential order of addition, heterocyclic skeletal diversity can be achieved. The key feature discriminating the different heterocyclic core formation is the availability of the N or S heteronucleophile to give the first Michael addition step affording regioselective substituted 2-thiohydantoins or 2-iminothiazolidinones. The hydrazone or enehydrazino side chain at the 5-position of both heterocycles represents a valuable functionality to reach novel 5-hydroxyethylidene derivatives difficult to obtain by other methods.