Abstract: On the hypothesis that hetero-sources could involve in self-sorting domino reactions and generate suitably functionalized intermediates to converge on the final product, we present herein a simple model of this strategy for the preparation of unsymmetrical 1,4-dihydropyridines. In the presence of CH3COONH4 and 3-nitrobenzaldehyde, two different 1,3-dicarbonyl compounds, respectively, generate the enamine and enone intermediates, which could finally combine with each other to efficiently afford the unsymmetrical 1,4-dihydropyridines. Direct 1H NMR analysis of the reaction mixture further proved the high selectivity of this reaction, which indicated the high self-sorting behavior of different domino reactions and their final convergent property. We anticipate that these results should inspire the design of more efficient domino reactions for the preparation of complex products from simple materials via integration of hetero-source self-sorting domino strategy.

Key words: Hetero-source self-sorting domino reaction, Hantzsch reaction, 1,4-Dihydropyridine