Superoxide Radical Anion‐Mediated Aerobic Oxidative Synthesis of 2‐Substituted Quinazolines under Visible Light

A facile and efficient one-pot reaction for aerobic oxidative synthesis of 2-substituted quinazolines has been developed by visible light catalysis. A variety of substituted aldehydes and 2-aminobenzylamines are amenable to producing the corresponding quinazolines in good to excellent yield under metal-free condition. Electron spin resonance (ESR) measurement provides clear evidence on the formation of superoxide radical anion (O2*) rather than singlet oxygen (1O2), which is responsible for this effective chemical transformation.