Hindawi Publishing Corporation Journal of Chemistry Volume 2014, Article ID 163074, 47 pages http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2014/163074 Review Article Synthesis and Reactions of Five-Membered Heterocycles Using Phase Transfer Catalyst (PTC) Techniques Ahmed M. El-Sayed,1 Omyma A. Abd Allah,1 Ahmed M. M. El-Saghier,1 and Shaaban K. Mohamed2,3 1 Department of Chemistry, Faculty of Science, Sohag University, Sohag 82524, Egypt 2 Chemistry and Environmental Division, Manchester Metropolitan University, Manchester M1 5GD, UK 3 Chemistry Department, Faculty of Science, Minia University, El-Minia 61519, Egypt Correspondence should be addressed to Omyma A. Abd Allah;
[email protected] Received 1 May 2013; Revised 15 September 2013; Accepted 28 October 2013; Published 25 February 2014 Academic Editor: Jorge F. Fernandez-Sanchez Copyright © 2014 Ahmed M. El-Sayed et al. This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. Phase transfer catalysts (PTCs) have been widely used for the synthesis of organic compounds particularly in both liquid-liquid and solid-liquid heterogeneous reaction mixtures. They are known to accelerate reaction rates by facilitating formation of interphase transfer of species and making reactions between reagents in two immiscible phases possible. Application of PTC instead of traditional technologies for industrial processes of organic synthesis provides substantial benefits for the environment. On the basis of numerous reports it is evident that phase-transfer catalysis is the most efficient way for generation and reactions of many active intermediates.