Basic Salt-Lake Brine: An Efficient Catalyst for the Transformation of CO2 into Quinazoline-2,4(1 H,3 H)-diones.

The efficient transformation of CO2 into value-added chemicals with green, abundant, and cheap catalysts is an interesting and challenging topic in both green and sustainable chemistry. In this study, a series of salt-lake brines were used for the first time to catalyze the reaction of CO2 and a broad range of 2-aminobenzonitriles to form the corresponding quinazoline-2,4(1 H,3 H)-diones. It was found that the abundant, available, and inexpensive Zhabuye basic salt-lake brine could efficiently promote the reaction of 2-aminobenzonitriles under low pressure of CO2 . Very high yields of value-added products were obtained. Further studies indicated that the basic carbonate and borate ions in the brine play key roles in accelerating the reactions.