3-Cyclohexyl-6-phenyl-1-(p-tolyl)pyrimidine-2,4(1H,3H)-dione

The synthesis of a novel uracil derivative, 3-cyclohexyl-6-phenyl-1-(p-tolyl)pyrimidine-2,4(1H,3H)-dione (4), is reported via a four-component reaction involving an α-chloroketone (1), an aliphatic isocyanate (2), a primary aromatic amine (3) and carbon monoxide. The proposed reaction mechanism involves a Pd-catalyzed carbonylation of 2-chloro-1-phenylethan-1-one (1), leading to a β-ketoacylpalladium key intermediate, and, at the same time, in situ formation of non-symmetrical urea deriving from cyclohexyl isocyanate (2) and p-toluidine (3). After a chemo-selective acylation of the non-symmetrical urea and the subsequent cyclization of the acylated intermediate, 3-cyclohexyl-6-phenyl-1-(p-tolyl)pyrimidine-2,4(1H,3H)-dione (4) is formed. Uracil derivative 4 was isolated in good yield (73%) and fully characterized by 1H, 13C, 2D 1H-13C HSQC and 2D 1H-13C HMBC NMR, FT-IR spectroscopy and GC-MS spectrometry.