An efficient and practical electrochemically catalyzed transition metal-free process for the synthesis of substituted quinazolinones from simple and readily available o-aminobenzonitriles and aldehydes in water has been accomplished. I2/base and water play an unprecedented and vital role in the reaction. By electrochemically catalysed hydrolysis of o-aminobenzonitriles, the synthesis of quinazolinones with benzaldehyde was first proposed. The synthetic utility of this method was demonstrated by gram-scale operation, as well as the preparation of bioactive N-(2,5-dichlorophenyl)-6-(2,2,2-trifluoroethoxy) pteridin-4-amine, which enables straightforward, practical and environmentally benign quinazolinone formation.
