Exploring the scope of the Gewald reaction: Expansion to a four-component process

An efficient four-component reaction was developed to take advantage of the reactivity of the 2-aminothiophene-3-carbonitrile functionality, which is obtained during the classical three-component Gewald reaction. Various α-methylene bearing ketones were reacted with malononitrile, elemental sulfur, and aryl/heteroarylnitrile derivatives in t-BuOH/NaOH to afford 2-arylthieno[2,3-d]pyrimidin-4-amines in high yields. Preliminary studies revealed the photophysical properties of the products and their potential for use as metal sensors.