Synthesis of 2,3-Fused Quinazolinones via the Radical Cascade Pathway and Reaction Mechanistic Studies by DFT Calculations

An efficient radical cascade cyclization of unactivated alkenes toward the synthesis of a series of ring-fused quinazolinones has been developed in moderate to excellent yields using commercially available ethers, alkanes, and alcohols, respectively, under a base-free condition in a short time without a transition metal as catalyst. Notably, the transformations can be carried out with the advantages of a broad substrate scope and high atomic economy. Density functional theory calculations and wavefunction analyses were performed to elucidate the radical reaction mechanism.