Iodine-catalyzed three-component one-pot synthesis of naphthopyranopyrimidines under solvent-free conditions

Iodine is found to be a highly efficient catalyst for the three-component coupling (3CC) of aldehydes, β-naphthol, and 1,3-dimethylbarbituric acid under solvent-free conditions to afford the corresponding 8,10-dimethyl-12-aryl-12H-naphtho[1′,2′5,6]pyrano[2,3-d]pyrimidine-9,11-diones in good yields with high selectivity. The use of readily available iodine makes this method very simple, convenient, and cost-effective.