Visible light-induced cascade N-alkylation/amidation reaction of quinazolin-4(3H)-ones and related N-heterocycles

An efficient and visible light-promoted cascade N-alkylation/amidation of quinazolin-4(3H)-ones with benzyl halides and allyl halides has been described for the first time to provide a convenient access to quinazoline-2,4(1H,3H)-diones. This cascade N-alkylation/amidation reaction shows good functional group tolerance and could also be applied to N-heterocycles such as benzo[d]thiazoles, benzo[d]imidazoles, and quinazolines. Control experiments show that K₂CO₃ plays an important role in this transformation.