Metal-Free, Photoredox-Catalyzed Synthesis of Quinazolin-4(3H)-ones and Benzo[4,5]imidazo[1,2-c]quinazolines Using Trialkylamines as Alkyl Synthon

Highly functionalized quinazolin-4(3H)-ones were synthesized from reactions of N-aryl-2-aminobenzamides with trialkylamines under photocatalytic conditions by using eosin Y (EY) as a catalyst. The reaction proceeds under mild conditions in aqueous acetonitrile and has a broad substrate scope. Mechanistic studies disclosed the electron-donor nature of the intermediate 2,3-dihydroquinazolin-4(1H)-one (3') in the photocatalytic cycle to afford the 2,3-disubstituted-quinazolin-4(3H)-ones (3). This methodology has been extended to synthesize benzo [4,5] imidazole[1,2-c] quinazolines and 3 aa on a large scale. Furthermore, the synthesis of potent central nervous system depressant (CNS) drug molecules such as methaqualone (3 la) and mecloqualone (3 pa) was also achieved successfully.