Biginelli dihydropyrimidines: a tunable class of alkyl radical precursors

Abstract

Alkyl-substituted dihydropyrimidines (DHPyms), synthesised via the Biginelli reaction, are introduced as tunable alternatives to 4-alkyl Hantzsch dihydropyridines (DHPs) in radical chemistry. Leveraging the modularity of the Biginelli reaction, we systematically explored the redox properties, UV/vis absorption, and synthetic potential of DHPyms in radical-mediated transformations, identifying dimethylamino-substituted DHPym as a highly reactive, bench-stable, and easily synthesised alkyl radical precursor.