Ruthenium(II)-Catalyzed C-C/C-N Coupling of 2-Arylquinazolinones with Vinylene Carbonate: Access to Fused Quinazolinones.

In this work, ruthenium(II)-catalyzed C-C/C-N annulation of 2-arylquinazolinones with vinylene carbonate is reported to synthesize fused quinazolinones. This catalytic system tolerates a wide range of substrates with excellent functional-group compatibility. In this transformation, the vinylene carbonate acts as an ethynol surrogate without any external oxidant involved. Furthermore, preliminary mechanistic studies were conducted, and a plausible catalytic cycle was also proposed.