Facile microwave-assisted synthesis of cyclic amidinium salts

The cyclization of N,N'-dialkyl or diaryl ethane-1,2-diamines or propane-1,3-diamines with inorganic ammonium salts and orthoesters proceeds briskly under microwave irradiation to afford the corresponding imidazolinium or tetrahydropyrimidinium salts. The transformation is highly versatile and tolerates a wide range of substituents and counterions. It could be scaled from 1 to 50 mmol without any difficulty. Because the workup is equally rapid and straightforward, this experimental procedure provides fast and convenient access to an important class of heterocyclic compounds that have found numerous applications as N-heterocyclic carbene precursors, organocatalysts, and ionic liquids.