Expeditious Synthesis of 2-Phenylquinazolin-4-amines via a Fe/Cu Relay-Catalyzed Domino Strategy

A highly efficient Fe/Cu relay-catalyzed domino protocol has been developed for the synthesis of 2-phenyl-quinazolin-4-amines from commercially available ortho-halogenated benzonitriles, aldehydes, and sodium azide. This elegant domino process involved consecutive iron-mediated [3 + 2] cycloaddition, copper-catalyzed SNAr, reduction, cydization, oxidation, and copper-catalyzed denitrogenation sequences. The formed structure is the privileged core in drugs and bioactive molecules.