One of the organocatalysts 1,4-diazabicyclo octane (DABCO) is an excellent solid catalyst in a number of reactions. It is also a good nucleophile and a base in numerous reactions for the synthesis of heterocycles. DABCO catalyzes many reactions like cycloaddition reactions, coupling reactions, Baylis-Hillman reaction, Henry reaction, ring opening reactions, etc. One more advanced feature of these reactions is that they proceed through environmental friendly pathway. DABCO has more advantages than other organic catalysts because it is an inexpensive, nontoxic base, an ecofriendly and a highly reactive catalyst for building of organic frameworks, which produce the desired products in excellent yields with high selectivity. Many catalytic applications of DABCO have been reported for the synthesis of an organic framework which has been discussed in this review.

A simple, mild and efficient solvent-free method for the acetylation of carbohydrates, and their partially protected derivatives, as well as non-carbohydrate substances in excellent yields in the presence of 1,4-diazabicyclo octane (DABCO) is described with the advantage of tolerance to various functional groups, short reaction time and ease of product isolation.

This review article covers literature data from the last 5 years regarding the various applications of 1,4-diazabicyclo octane (DABCO) in organic chemistry. The frequent use of DABCO as a base, catalyst, and reagent has been reflected in the large number of publications, therefore our review will be published in 4 parts. The first part of the review is dedicated to the use of DABCO as catalyst for Morita–Baylis–Hillman and Knoevenagel reactions.