Four component tandem Knoevenagel–Michael strategy for the assembly of arylaldehydes, N,N'-dimethylbarbituric acid, 4-hydroxy-6-methyl-2H-pyran-2-one and morpholine into unsymmetrical scaffold with three different heterocyclic rings

A new type of four component tandem Knoevenagel–Michael reaction has been found consisting in the assembly of benzaldehydes, N,N'-dimethylbarbituric acid, 4-hydroxy-6-methyl-2H-pyran-2-one and morpholine in alcohols, other organic solvents or water at room temperature without catalyst or any other additives, which results in the selective formation of unsymmetrical scaffold with three different heterocyclic rings in 63–98% yields. The crystal structure of morpholinium 5-[(4-hydroxy-6-methyl-2-oxo-2H-pyran-3-yl)(4-nitrophenyl)methyl]-1,3-dimethyl-2,6-dioxo-1,2,3,4-tetrahydropyrimidin-6-olate has been confirmed by X-ray diffraction.