Lewis acid-catalyzed 2-arylquinazoline formation from N '-arylbenzimidamides and paraformaldehyde

An efficient procedure for the synthesis of 2-arylquinazolines from N'-arylbenzimidamides has been developed under transitionmetal-free conditions. In this process, stable and low-toxicity paraformaldehyde was used as the carbon source. A broad range of functional groups were well tolerated in this reaction system.