Ruthenium as a Single Catalyst for Two Steps: One-Pot Ruthenium(II)-Catalyzed Aerobic Oxidative Dehydrogenation of Dihydroquinazolinones and Cross-Coupling/Annulation to give N-Fused Polycyclic Heteroarenes

Abstract

One single catalyst, [RuCl2(p-cymene)]2, was used for oxidative dehydrogenation followed by cross-coupling/annulation reactions to access diversely decorated N-fused polycyclic heteroarenes from dihydroquinazolinones and alkynes. This one-pot method does not require purification of intermediates or addition of copper salts. The synergistic use of molecular oxygen as the oxidant highlights the sustainable aspect of this method.