Lawesson's reagent promoted deoxygenation of azlactones for the syntheses of 2,4-disubstituted thiazoles.

Azlactones and thiazoles are common structural motifs and possess diverse applications. A new method for the efficient and straightforward syntheses of 2,4-disubstituted thiazoles from azlactones has been developed. The reaction proceeded via deoxygenation of azlactones by Lawesson's reagent without metal or external additives. A variety of 2,4-disubstituted thiazoles were synthesized with up to 92% yield. Furthermore, the importance of this methodology was also justified by a gram-scale synthesis.