2-azidobenzaldehyde: A versatile scaffold for the generation of N‐heterocyclic compounds

•Synthesis of N-heterocyclic compounds via Staudinger/aza-Wittig cascade reactions.•Synthesis of N-heterocyclic compounds via Ugi reactions.•Synthesis of N-heterocyclic compounds via van Leusen reaction.•Synthesis of N-heterocyclic compound via metal-catalyzed cyclization reactions.•Synthesis of N-heterocyclic compound via non-metal-catalyzed cyclization reactions. 2-Azidobenzaldehydes are a popular class of azidoaldehydes that have been recognized as readily available, highly stable, commercially accessible starting materials. Owing to the presence of the azide and formyl groups in their skeletons, they efficiently transformed not only into diverse simple N-heterocycles having great pharmacological potential but also into polyheterocyclic structures that contain applications in both medicinal chemistry and materials science. This review describes the application of substituted and unsubstituted 2-azidobenzaldehydes in synthetic transformations.