Subscribe to RSS
DOI: 10.1055/a-2212-7627
BF3@K10: An Efficient Heterogeneous Montmorillonite Catalyst for the Halogenation of N-Heterocycles
Honoring the contributions of the late Har Gobind Khorana in nucleic acid chemistry.
Abstract
Halogenated N-heterocycles are an essential structural building block in medicinal chemistry. Herein, we describe an economical and efficient protocol for the regioselective halogenation of several N-heterocycles (pyrimidines, a pyrazole, 2-aminopyridine, theophylline, and an imidazo[1,2-a]pyridine) with BF3-doped montmorillonite (BF3@K10). The new catalyst was characterized by FTIR and 11B NMR spectroscopy, XRD, SEM, and EDS. The developed strategy provides easy and fast access to iodo-, bromo-, and chloro-N-heterocycles under mild conditions. This method was used to synthesize nine new halogenated pyrimidine derivatives. The reaction is simple and general, affording good to excellent yields of products under conventional heating or microwave conditions in the presence of BF3@K10 as an ecofriendly, inexpensive, and efficient catalyst. This protocol is clearly superior to the conventional route because it offers short reaction times, high yields, and easy workup.
#
Key words
halogenation - heterogeneous catalysis - solid catalysts - montmorillonite K10 - nitrogen heterocyclesSustainability is becoming increasingly important in nearly every chemical industry, because it will require the efficient use of resources to produce chemicals to meet the needs of today’s society and those of future generations. Green catalysis is an achievable strategy for accomplishing the goal of sustainable development. Its main goals are to reduce the environmental, human health, and safety risks of chemicals by redesigning toxic molecules, synthetic routes, and industrial processes.[1] For instance, the versatile properties of both natural and modified clays have received much attention owing to their application in the fabrication of catalysts. Montmorillonite (MMT) can efficiently act as a support to incorporate numerous guest species within its layers or on its external surface.[2] MMT K10 is categorized as a fascinating clay catalyst because it has several advantages over other solid supports.[3] It can act as a general Brønsted or Lewis acid, and it is considered to be a low-cost green catalyst[4] because it prevents waste and is reusable and safe to handle. Indeed, MMT can be recovered easily by filtration. It can be used under solvent-free conditions in a one-pot process and activated by microwave or ultrasound irradiation.[5] Microwave-assisted organic synthesis has been widely used in organic chemistry for the last 40 years to solve problems such as low yields, long reaction times, formation of byproducts, and efficient synthesis of libraries of compounds.[6] In 2014, Bamoniri and co-workers developed a green heterogeneous solid acid based on BF3 embedded in silica nanoparticles for preparing formazan dyes under solvent-free conditions.[7] Similarly, silica-supported boron trifluoride (SiO2·BF3) was used as a catalyst for the synthesis of 14-aryl or alkyl-14H-dibenzo[a,j]xanthene derivatives by condensation of 2-naphthol and aldehydes.[8] The same heterogeneous catalyst was used to prepare 1,2,4,5-tetrasubstituted imidazoles.[9] Moreover, alumina-supported BF3/γ-Al2O3 nanoparticles were prepared through the reaction of nano-γ-alumina with BF3·Et2O and were used for synthesizing some cyclic acetals under thermal- and solvent-free conditions.[10]
Halogenated heteroaromatic compounds are crucial building blocks for constructing carbon–carbon and carbon–heteroatom bonds in organic synthesis and drug design.[11] They play a pivotal role in drug and natural-product synthesis.[12] Furthermore, heteroaromatic bromides and iodides have been extensively used in cross-coupling[13] and Grignard[14] reactions. So far, several synthetic methods for 5-halouracil derivatives have been developed because of the spectral features of these compounds. For instance, Asakura and Robins have reported an efficient method for preparing 3′,5′-di-O-acetylated and unprotected 5-halouracil nucleosides by using elemental iodine or a lithium halogenide (LiI, LiBr, or LiCl) and ceric ammonium nitrate at 80 °C.[15] Knaus and co-workers have described a mild and efficient methodology for synthesizing 5-halo- (iodo-, bromo-, or chloro-) uracil nucleosides.[16] For instance, 5-halouridines and 5-haloarabinouridines were synthesized in good to excellent yields by the halogenation of 2′-deoxyuridine, uridine, and arabinouridine, with iodine monochloride or N-bromo- (or chloro-) succinimide in the presence of sodium azide at 25–45 °C. An efficient, convenient, and benign methodology for C-5 halogenation of pyrimidine-based nucleosides has been developed by using N-halosuccinimides as halogenating reagents without any catalyst but with an expensive ionic liquid medium as a solvent.[17] Moreover, highly regioselective bromination of heteroaromatic compounds has been reported by using N-bromosuccinimide in tetrabutylammonium bromide.[18] Thus, the development of an affordable and simple protocol for efficiently synthesizing 5-halouracil derivatives is an attractive challenge.
To the best of our knowledge, none of the reported syntheses of 5-halouracil derivatives was carried out under microwave conditions in the presence of a heterogeneous catalyst. Herein, we offer a simple and easy preparation of BF3@K10 and describe its utility in the synthesis of various halo N-heterocycles.
BF3@K10 was prepared by addition of BF3·OEt2 to MMT clay in dichloromethane, followed by evaporation of the solvent under reduced pressure. The catalyst was characterized by different analytical methods, including FTIR and 11B NMR solid-state spectroscopy, XRD, SEM, and EDS. The FTIR bands at 1448 and 1182 cm–1, assigned to B–O and B–F, respectively, confirm the presence of boron trifluoride.[19] Figure [1] shows the presence of a band at 3620 cm–1, which is attributed to the vibration of hydroxy groups bound to silicon, aluminum, and magnesium atoms. The bands at 3443, 3231, and 1639 cm–1 correspond to the elongation and deformation vibrations of the water absorbed by the MMT. In addition, the bands at 528 and 467 cm–1 correspond to the deformation vibrations of Si–O–Al and Si–O–Si, respectively.[20] A comparison of the IR spectra of the K10 and BF3@K10 materials reveals that, owing to the impregnation of boron trifluoride into MMT, the position of the strong band at 1048 cm–1 (stretching vibration of Si–O in tetrahedral sites) has been shifted to 1094 cm–1.


To confirm the successful impregnation, 11B NMR spectroscopic analyses of MMT and BF3@K10 were recorded in the solid state. The spectrum of BF3@K10 shows the presence of a broad signal at around 15 ppm attributable to BF3 species integrated with Si and Al centers. It is worth noting that no such signal was observed in K10 (Figure [2]).


The XRD patterns of K10 and BF3@K10 (Figure [3]) reveal similar features, which indicates minimal structural distortion. Basal d001 spacing was observed for both samples at about 2θ ≈ 8.8°, which indicates the presence of a residual 2:1 (T–O–T) structure (two tetrahedral sheets flanking an octahedral layer).[21] Additional reflections at 2θ ≈ 20–30° were attributed to quartz (marked with Q) and cristobalite.[22] Overall, the remarkable similarities between the diffractograms of the samples indicate that the structure of the clay is preserved during the impregnation of BF3.


SEM analysis (Figure [4]) shows that the crystalline nature of the clay is maintained after impregnation with boron trifluoride, a result that is in accordance with the XRD results. The chemical composition of the K10 and BF3@K10 materials was determined by semiquantitative analysis by using energy-dispersive X-ray spectrometry coupled with SEM (Figure [5]). EDS analysis of MMT shows the presence of the three sharp peaks related to the elements Al, Si, Mg, and O (Figure [5a]). However, analysis of BF3@K10 shows two new peaks attributed to the elements B and F in addition to the original peaks. The B and F contents in the clays are 0.17 and 2.76 wt%, confirming the presence of the BF3 entity. It is important to note that the high observed atomic F/B ratio (around 6) relative to the theoretical one can be explained by the low sensitivity for boron atoms (a light element) in EDS.




Initially, we focused on the optimization of conditions for the iodination of 4-((2,4-dioxo-3,4-dihydropyrimidin-1(2H)-yl)methyl)benzonitrile (1c, 0.2 mmol) by using N-iodosuccinimide (NIS, 0.22 mmol) as an iodine source in acetonitrile (3 mL) as the solvent at 60 °C for 4 h (Table [1]). First, the effect of the catalyst was studied. The use of boron trifluoride diethyl etherate (BF3·OEt2) as a catalyst afforded the desired product 5c in 38% yield. During the reaction, substrate 1c was decomposed by the aggressive Lewis acid BF3·OEt2. Next, the Lewis acid reactivity was reduced by loading the BF3·OEt2 on hydrothermal carbonization (HTC) MMT and K10 MMT to furnish BF3@HTC and BF3@K10, respectively. Gratifyingly, the yield was significantly increased when BF3@K10 was employed (entry 3, Table [1]). No reaction was observed in the absence of the catalyst. The highest yield (98%) for compound 5c was obtained when 60 mg of the BF3@K10 was used (Figure [6]A). The conventional conditions (stirring at 60 °C) with BF3@K10 were further compared with activation by microwave (MW) and sonication protocols to study the rate of reaction. Among the three protocols studied, MW offered the best results. Often, MW reactions performed at higher temperature enable a reduction in the total reaction time. Further optimization of the MW reaction indicated that heating the reaction mixture to 100 °C for 10 min furnished highest yield without observed degradation of the starting material (Figure [6]).
![]() |
||
Entry |
Catalyst |
Yieldb (%) |
1 |
BF3OEt2 (0.024 mL) |
38 |
2 |
BF3@HTC (60 mg) |
44 |
3 |
BF3@K10 (60 mg) |
98 |
4 |
K10 (60 mg) |
16 |
5 |
Without catalyst |
0 |
a Reaction conditions: 1c (0.2 mmol), NIS (0.22 mmol, 1.1 equiv), acetonitrile (3 mL), 60 °C, 4 h.
b Yields of isolated products.


With the optimized conditions in hand, we explored the substrate scope for the halogenation (I/Br/Cl) of different uracil derivatives (Scheme [1]). We studied the halogenation of various N-alkylated uracil analogs, including acyclic (ethyl acetate), heterocyclic (2′-deoxyribose), benzylic, and homoanalogous (methyl-1,3,4-oxadiazole) derivatives. The results show that the catalyst is highly efficient in the synthesis of 5-chlorouracil, 5-bromouracil, and 5-iodouracil derivatives 3–5. We noticed that conventional heating and microwave activation furnished similar yields. The halogenation yields varied between 84 and 99%. There was a small decrease in the yield for the formation of nucleoside products 3–5d. We attribute this to cleavage of the glycosidic bond in the presence of acid at elevated temperature. In addition, we performed halogenation of other heterocycles such as a pyrazole, 2-aminopyridine, theophylline, and an imidazo[1,2-a]pyridine by using conventional heating. Halogenation of these heterocycles resulted in the chlorinated, brominated, and iodinated derivatives (6–8a–d; Figure [7]) in good to excellent isolated yields (62–99%). The drop in yield for the pyridine products was a result of the formation of the secondary 3,5-dihalopyridine products.




One of the advantages of heterogeneous catalysis is the ease of separation by filtration and reuse of the catalyst. In this case, efficient recycling is more difficult because the catalyst is not covalently bound to the support. Hence, after the first use, the catalyst was recovered by filtration at the end of the reaction, washed with acetone and dichloromethane, dried at 100 °C for 2 h, and reused in the iodination reaction. The results show that the yields for the formation of product 5c decreased to 72 and 21%, respectively for the first and second reuse cycles. This observation could be explained by the leaching of BF3 after each use. To confirm this hypothesis, we stirred the BF3@K10 in acetonitrile at 60 °C for 4 h. The mixture was cooled to room temperature and filtered to remove the solid material. To the filtrate, alkylated uracil 1c and NIS were added and the mixture was heated at 60 °C for 4 h while being stirred. We obtained the iodinated product 5c in 33% yield (Scheme [2]). This experiment shows that BF3 leaches into the acetonitrile, which decreases the efficiency of the catalyst after each use.




To demonstrate the value of the new BF3@K10 catalysis method, we compared the latest results for the formation of 5-halouracil analogs with those in the older literature. The original protocol was developed for the N-alkylation of the halouracils (Cl, Br, I),[23] [24] whereas the new protocol utilized N1-alkylated uracils as starting materials that were then halogenated efficiently by using BF3@K10.[25] Scheme [3] summarizes the yields from these two protocols. Clearly, the new protocol is superior in terms of higher yields and shorter reaction times for the preparation of 5-halouracil derivatives 3–5a and 3–5e.
Prakash and co-workers have reported BF3-H2O as an efficient catalyst for halogenating aromatic compounds.[26] Indeed, BF3-H2O forms H+, which activates the N-halosuccinimide (NXS) to afford X+ (scheme 4, eq. 1). To verify this mechanism, K10 MMT was dried at 120 °C for 2 days and used to prepare BF3@K10. This catalyst was used in the iodination of pyrimidine 1c to give iodopyrimidine 5c in 98% yield, which suggests that BF3 does not need water to activate NXS. Thus, the proposed mechanism is that BF3 is adsorbed onto the surface of K10 and reacts as a Lewis acid, activating NXS to form X+ (Scheme [4], eq. 2).


In conclusion, the solid clay BF3@K10 was prepared with K10 as a support, and it was found to be an excellent heterogenous catalyst for the halogenation of N-heterocycles, including pyrimidines, a pyrazole, 2-aminopyridine, theophylline, and an imidazo[1,2-a]pyridine. The interlayer structure of BF3@K10 enabled efficient chlorination, bromination, and iodination by using N-halosuccinimides as the halogenating source. The key features of this method are short reaction times, high yields, an affordable catalyst, and easy workup. The synthetic methodologies described herein are expected to allow broader access to halogenated heterocyclic compounds for the scientific community.
#
Conflict of Interest
The authors declare no conflict of interest.
Acknowledgment
The authors would like to thank the technical staff of the Centre of Analysis and Characterization, Cadi Ayyad University, for performing the spectroscopic analyses.
Supporting Information
- Supporting information for this article is available online at https://doi-org.accesdistant.sorbonne-universite.fr/10.1055/a-2212-7627.
- Supporting Information
-
References and Notes
- 1a Kate A, Sahu LK, Pandey J, Mishra M, Sharma PK. Curr. Res. Green Sustainable Chem. 2022; 5: 100248
- 1b Singh H, Rajput JK. Sustainable Catalysis . In Encyclopedia of Physical Organic Chemistry . Wang Z. John Wiley & Sons; Hoboken: 2017: 1-40
- 2a Varadwaj GB. B, Parida KM. RSC Adv. 2013; 3: 13583
- 2b Yaghmaeiyan N, Mirzaei M, Delghavi R. Results Chem. 2022; 4: 100549
- 2c Devaraj Naik B, Udayakumar M. Mat. Today: Proc. 2021; 46: 9855
- 2d Kaur N, Kishore DJ. Chem. Pharm. Res. 2012; 4: 991
- 2e Rambabu G, Kiran YB. R, Tarakeswar Y, Khalivulla SI, Barbosa LC. A, Vijayakumar V. Chem. Biodiversity 2022; 19: e202200669
- 2f Kumar BS, Dhakshinamoorthy A, Pitchumani K. Catal. Sci. Technol. 2014; 4: 2378
- 2g García-Guzmán P, Medina-Torres L, Bernad-Bernad MJ, Calderas F, Manero O. Mater. Today Commun. 2023; 35: 105604
- 3a Hechelski M, Ghinet A, Louvel B, Dufrénoy P, Rigo B, Daïch A, Waterlot C. ChemSusChem 2018; 11: 1249
- 3b Yaghmaeiyan N, Mirzaei M, Bamoniri A. Arabian J. Chem. 2023; 16: 105026
- 4 Li JT, Xing CY, Li TS. J. Chem. Technol. Biotechnol. 2004; 79: 1275
- 5 Bordoni C, Cima CM, Azzali E, Costantino G, Brancale A. RSC Adv. 2019; 9: 20113
- 6 Bamoniri A, Mirjalili BB. F, Moshtael-Arani N. J. Mol. Catal. A: Chem. 2014; 393: 272
- 7 Mirjalili BB. F, Bamoniri A, Akbari A. Tetrahedron Lett. 2008; 49: 6454
- 8 Sadeghi B, Mirjalili BB. F, Hashemi MM. Tetrahedron Lett. 2008; 49: 2575
- 9 Bamoniri A, Yaghmaeiyan N, Sajadi SM. Results Chem. 2023; 5: 100870
- 10 Taylor, R. 1990.
- 11 De La Mare P. Electrophilic Halogenation: Reaction Pathways Involving Attack by Electrophilic Halogens on Unsaturated Compounds. Cambridge University Press; Cambridge: 1976
- 12a Winterton N. Green Chem. 2000; 2: 173
- 12b Gribble GW. J. Chem. Educ. 2004; 81: 1441
- 12c Fujimori DG, Walsh CT. Curr. Opin. Chem. Biol. 2007; 11: 553
- 13 Metal-Catalyzed Cross-Coupling Reactions and More . De Meijere A, Bräse S, Oestreich M. Wiley-VCH; Weinheim: 2013
- 14 Handbook of Grignard reagents . Silverman GS, Rakita PE. CRC Press; Boca Raton: 1996
- 15 Asakura J, Robins MJ. J. Org. Chem. 1990; 55: 4928
- 16 Kumar R, Wiebe LI, Knaus EE. Can. J. Chem. 1994; 72: 2005
- 17 Kumar V, Yap J, Muroyama A, Malhotra SV. Synthesis 2009; 3957
- 18 Ganguly NC, De P, Dutta SJ. S. Synthesis 2005; 1103
- 19 Abdollahi-Alibeik M, Rezaeipoor-Anari A. Catal. Sci. Technol. 2014; 4: 1151
- 20 Zeynizadeh B, Rahmani S. RSC Adv. 2019; 9: 28038
- 21 Dharne S, Bokade VV. J. Nat. Gas Chem. 2011; 20: 18
- 22 Wu H, Xie H, He G, Guan Y, Zhang Y. Appl. Clay Sci. 2016; 119: 161
- 23 El Mansouri A.-E, Zahouily M, Lazrek HB. Synth. Commun. 2019; 49: 1802
- 24 El Mansouri A.-E, Maatallah M, Ait Benhassou H, Moumen A, Mehdi A, Snoeck R, Andrei G, Zahouily M, Lazrek HB. Nucleosides, Nucleotides Nucleic Acids 2020; 39: 1088
- 25 Synthesis of BF3@K10: K10 clay (1.2 g) was dispersed in dichloromethane (10 mL). Subsequently, BF3OEt2 (400 mg) was added dropwise to the mixture at 0 °C under stirring. The mixture was then stirred at room temperature for 1 h, at the end of which the dichloromethane was evaporated under reduced pressure to obtain BF3@K10. Typical procedure for the transformation of 2-((2,4-dioxo-3,4-dihydropyrimidin-1(2H)-yl)methyl)benzonitrile (1b) with conventional heating: A mixture of pyrimidine 1b (0.2 mmol), N-halosuccinimide (0.22 mmol), and BF3@K10 (60 mg) in acetonitrile (3 mL) was heated at 60 °C for 4 h. The mixture was then cooled, the catalyst was recovered by filtration and washed with acetone and dichloromethane, and the filtrate was evaporated under reduced pressure. The residue was purified by column chromatography with a methanol/dichloromethane mixture as the eluent to obtain the corresponding halogenated product 3b. Typical procedure for the transformation of 2-((2,4-dioxo-3,4-dihydropyrimidin-1(2H)-yl)methyl)benzonitrile (1b) with microwave activation: A mixture of pyrimidine 1b (0.2 mmol), N-halosuccinimide (0.22 mmol), and BF3@K10 (60 mg) in acetonitrile (3 mL) was placed in a closed pressure vessel and heated to 100 °C (400 W) for 10 min in a microwave. The mixture was then cooled, the catalyst was recovered by filtration and washed with acetone and dichloromethane, and the filtrate was evaporated under reduced pressure. The residue was purified by column chromatography with a methanol/dichloromethane mixture as the eluent to obtain the corresponding halogenated product 3b: Rf = 0.34 (CH2Cl2/MeOH, 9.9:0.1); mp 235–237 °C. 1H NMR (300 MHz, DMSO-d 6): δ = 5.107 (s, 2 H, CH2), 7.43 (d, 3 J H–H = 7.8 Hz, 1 H, HPh), 7.50 (t, 3 J H–H = 7.8 Hz, 1 H, HPh), 7.83 (t, 3 J H–H = 7.8 Hz, 1 H, HPh), 7.87 (d, 3 J H-H = 7.6 Hz, 1 H, HPh), 8.17 (s, 1 H, H-6), 11.68 (s, 1 H, NH). 13C NMR (75 MHz, DMSO-d 6): δ = 50.53 (CH2), 107.62 (C-5), 111.03 (CPh), 117.59 (CN), 128.51 (CPh), 128.97 (CPh), 133.77 (CPh), 134.04 (CPh), 142.25 (CPh), 143.36 (C-6), 150.66 (C-2), 159.92 (C-4). IR (KBr): 3420 (NH), 3041 (Csp2H), 2829 (Csp3H), 2232 (CN), 1694 (C=O), 1243 (Csp2-Cl) cm–1. HRMS: m/z calcd [M + H]+: 262.0383; found: 262.0391.
- 26 Prakash GK. S, Mathew T, Hoole D, Esteves PM, Wang Q, Rasul G, Olah GA. J. Am. Chem. Soc. 2004; 126: 15770
Corresponding Author
Publication History
Received: 18 July 2023
Accepted after revision: 16 November 2023
Accepted Manuscript online:
16 November 2023
Article published online:
18 December 2023
© 2023. Thieme. All rights reserved
Georg Thieme Verlag KG
Rüdigerstraße 14, 70469 Stuttgart, Germany
-
References and Notes
- 1a Kate A, Sahu LK, Pandey J, Mishra M, Sharma PK. Curr. Res. Green Sustainable Chem. 2022; 5: 100248
- 1b Singh H, Rajput JK. Sustainable Catalysis . In Encyclopedia of Physical Organic Chemistry . Wang Z. John Wiley & Sons; Hoboken: 2017: 1-40
- 2a Varadwaj GB. B, Parida KM. RSC Adv. 2013; 3: 13583
- 2b Yaghmaeiyan N, Mirzaei M, Delghavi R. Results Chem. 2022; 4: 100549
- 2c Devaraj Naik B, Udayakumar M. Mat. Today: Proc. 2021; 46: 9855
- 2d Kaur N, Kishore DJ. Chem. Pharm. Res. 2012; 4: 991
- 2e Rambabu G, Kiran YB. R, Tarakeswar Y, Khalivulla SI, Barbosa LC. A, Vijayakumar V. Chem. Biodiversity 2022; 19: e202200669
- 2f Kumar BS, Dhakshinamoorthy A, Pitchumani K. Catal. Sci. Technol. 2014; 4: 2378
- 2g García-Guzmán P, Medina-Torres L, Bernad-Bernad MJ, Calderas F, Manero O. Mater. Today Commun. 2023; 35: 105604
- 3a Hechelski M, Ghinet A, Louvel B, Dufrénoy P, Rigo B, Daïch A, Waterlot C. ChemSusChem 2018; 11: 1249
- 3b Yaghmaeiyan N, Mirzaei M, Bamoniri A. Arabian J. Chem. 2023; 16: 105026
- 4 Li JT, Xing CY, Li TS. J. Chem. Technol. Biotechnol. 2004; 79: 1275
- 5 Bordoni C, Cima CM, Azzali E, Costantino G, Brancale A. RSC Adv. 2019; 9: 20113
- 6 Bamoniri A, Mirjalili BB. F, Moshtael-Arani N. J. Mol. Catal. A: Chem. 2014; 393: 272
- 7 Mirjalili BB. F, Bamoniri A, Akbari A. Tetrahedron Lett. 2008; 49: 6454
- 8 Sadeghi B, Mirjalili BB. F, Hashemi MM. Tetrahedron Lett. 2008; 49: 2575
- 9 Bamoniri A, Yaghmaeiyan N, Sajadi SM. Results Chem. 2023; 5: 100870
- 10 Taylor, R. 1990.
- 11 De La Mare P. Electrophilic Halogenation: Reaction Pathways Involving Attack by Electrophilic Halogens on Unsaturated Compounds. Cambridge University Press; Cambridge: 1976
- 12a Winterton N. Green Chem. 2000; 2: 173
- 12b Gribble GW. J. Chem. Educ. 2004; 81: 1441
- 12c Fujimori DG, Walsh CT. Curr. Opin. Chem. Biol. 2007; 11: 553
- 13 Metal-Catalyzed Cross-Coupling Reactions and More . De Meijere A, Bräse S, Oestreich M. Wiley-VCH; Weinheim: 2013
- 14 Handbook of Grignard reagents . Silverman GS, Rakita PE. CRC Press; Boca Raton: 1996
- 15 Asakura J, Robins MJ. J. Org. Chem. 1990; 55: 4928
- 16 Kumar R, Wiebe LI, Knaus EE. Can. J. Chem. 1994; 72: 2005
- 17 Kumar V, Yap J, Muroyama A, Malhotra SV. Synthesis 2009; 3957
- 18 Ganguly NC, De P, Dutta SJ. S. Synthesis 2005; 1103
- 19 Abdollahi-Alibeik M, Rezaeipoor-Anari A. Catal. Sci. Technol. 2014; 4: 1151
- 20 Zeynizadeh B, Rahmani S. RSC Adv. 2019; 9: 28038
- 21 Dharne S, Bokade VV. J. Nat. Gas Chem. 2011; 20: 18
- 22 Wu H, Xie H, He G, Guan Y, Zhang Y. Appl. Clay Sci. 2016; 119: 161
- 23 El Mansouri A.-E, Zahouily M, Lazrek HB. Synth. Commun. 2019; 49: 1802
- 24 El Mansouri A.-E, Maatallah M, Ait Benhassou H, Moumen A, Mehdi A, Snoeck R, Andrei G, Zahouily M, Lazrek HB. Nucleosides, Nucleotides Nucleic Acids 2020; 39: 1088
- 25 Synthesis of BF3@K10: K10 clay (1.2 g) was dispersed in dichloromethane (10 mL). Subsequently, BF3OEt2 (400 mg) was added dropwise to the mixture at 0 °C under stirring. The mixture was then stirred at room temperature for 1 h, at the end of which the dichloromethane was evaporated under reduced pressure to obtain BF3@K10. Typical procedure for the transformation of 2-((2,4-dioxo-3,4-dihydropyrimidin-1(2H)-yl)methyl)benzonitrile (1b) with conventional heating: A mixture of pyrimidine 1b (0.2 mmol), N-halosuccinimide (0.22 mmol), and BF3@K10 (60 mg) in acetonitrile (3 mL) was heated at 60 °C for 4 h. The mixture was then cooled, the catalyst was recovered by filtration and washed with acetone and dichloromethane, and the filtrate was evaporated under reduced pressure. The residue was purified by column chromatography with a methanol/dichloromethane mixture as the eluent to obtain the corresponding halogenated product 3b. Typical procedure for the transformation of 2-((2,4-dioxo-3,4-dihydropyrimidin-1(2H)-yl)methyl)benzonitrile (1b) with microwave activation: A mixture of pyrimidine 1b (0.2 mmol), N-halosuccinimide (0.22 mmol), and BF3@K10 (60 mg) in acetonitrile (3 mL) was placed in a closed pressure vessel and heated to 100 °C (400 W) for 10 min in a microwave. The mixture was then cooled, the catalyst was recovered by filtration and washed with acetone and dichloromethane, and the filtrate was evaporated under reduced pressure. The residue was purified by column chromatography with a methanol/dichloromethane mixture as the eluent to obtain the corresponding halogenated product 3b: Rf = 0.34 (CH2Cl2/MeOH, 9.9:0.1); mp 235–237 °C. 1H NMR (300 MHz, DMSO-d 6): δ = 5.107 (s, 2 H, CH2), 7.43 (d, 3 J H–H = 7.8 Hz, 1 H, HPh), 7.50 (t, 3 J H–H = 7.8 Hz, 1 H, HPh), 7.83 (t, 3 J H–H = 7.8 Hz, 1 H, HPh), 7.87 (d, 3 J H-H = 7.6 Hz, 1 H, HPh), 8.17 (s, 1 H, H-6), 11.68 (s, 1 H, NH). 13C NMR (75 MHz, DMSO-d 6): δ = 50.53 (CH2), 107.62 (C-5), 111.03 (CPh), 117.59 (CN), 128.51 (CPh), 128.97 (CPh), 133.77 (CPh), 134.04 (CPh), 142.25 (CPh), 143.36 (C-6), 150.66 (C-2), 159.92 (C-4). IR (KBr): 3420 (NH), 3041 (Csp2H), 2829 (Csp3H), 2232 (CN), 1694 (C=O), 1243 (Csp2-Cl) cm–1. HRMS: m/z calcd [M + H]+: 262.0383; found: 262.0391.
- 26 Prakash GK. S, Mathew T, Hoole D, Esteves PM, Wang Q, Rasul G, Olah GA. J. Am. Chem. Soc. 2004; 126: 15770






















