Amino-functionalized carbon nanofibres as an efficient metal free catalyst for the synthesis of quinazoline-2,4(1H,3H)-diones from CO₂ and 2-aminobenzonitriles

Carbon nanofibres (CNFs) functionalized with 4-amino-2,6-dimethylpyridine were found to be an efficient metal free catalyst for the synthesis of quinazoline-2,4(1H,3H)-diones from CO₂ and 2-aminobenzonitriles using water as a reaction medium. The presence of water they exhibited a remarkable enhancement in reaction rates and provided high to excellent yield of the products. After completion of the reaction, the catalyst was easily separated by centrifugation and was successfully reused for several runs without showing any significant decrease in catalytic activity.