[DBU‐H]+ and H2o as effective catalyst form for 2,3‐dihydropyrido[2,3‐d]pyrimidin‐4(1H)‐ones: A DFT Study

DFT investigations are carried out to explore the effective catalyst forms of DBU and H₂O and the mechanism for the formation of 2,3‐dihydropyrido2,3‐d]‐pyrimidin‐4(1H)‐ones. Three main pathways are disclosed under unassisted, water‐catalyzed, DBU and water cocatalyzed conditions, which involves concerted nucleophilic addition and H‐transfer, concerted intramolecular cyclization and H‐transfer, and Dimroth rearrangement to form the product. The results indicated that the DBU and water cocatalyzed pathway is the most favored one as compared to the rest two pathways. The water donates one H to DBU and accepts H from 2‐amino‐nicotinonitrile ( 1 ), forming DBU‐H]⁺‐H₂O as effective catalyst form in the proton migration transition state rather than DBU‐H]⁺‐OH^?. The hydrogen bond between DBU‐H]⁺···H₂O··· 1 ^? decreases the activation barrier of the rate‐determining step. Our calculated results open a new insight for the green catalyst model of DBU‐H₂O. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.