Silica gel/FeCl3: An efficient and recyclable heterogenous catalyst for one step synthesis of 4(3H)-quinazolinones under solvent free conditions

Silica gel supported ferric chloride catalyzes efficiently the three component coupling reaction of anthranilic acid, ortho esters and amines under solvent free conditions to afford the corresponding 4(3H)-quinazolinones in single step. This new approach consistently has the advantage of excellent yields (84–98%) and short reaction times of 5–10 min. The catalyst can be recovered and recycled.