Synthesis of Alkylated Pyrimidines via Photoinduced Coupling Using Benzophenone as a Mediator

The synthesis of alkylated pyrimidines was achieved via benzophenone-mediated photoinduced coupling between saturated heterocycles and sulfonylpyrimidines. The pyrimidine ring was selectively introduced at the nonacidic C(sp(3))-H bond proximal to heteroatoms including oxygen, nitrogen, and sulfur. This is a coupling reaction mediated solely by photoexcited benzophenone, an organic molecule, without the aid of any metallic catalysts or reagents.