Decoding the reaction mechanism of the cyclocondensation of ethyl acetate2-oxo-2-(4-oxo-4H-pyrido [1.2-a] pyrimidin-3-yl) polyazaheterocycle and ethylenediamine using bond evolution theory.

We investigated the flow of electron density along the cyclocondensation reaction between ethyl acetate 2-oxo-2-(4-oxo-4H-pyrido[1.2-a]pyrimidin-3-yl) polyazaheterocycle (1) and ethylenediamine (2) at the ωB97XD/6-311++G(d,p)computational method within of bond evolution theory (BET). The exploration of potential energy surface shows that this reaction has three channels (1-3) with the formation of product 3 via channel-2 (the most favorable one) as the main product and this is in good agreement with experimental observations. The BET analysis allows identifying unambiguously the main chemical events happening along channel-2. The mechanism along first step (TS2-a) is described by a series of four structural stability domains (SSDs), while five SSDs for the last two steps (TS2-b and TS2-c). The first and third steps can be summarized as follows, the formation of N1-C6 bond (SSD-II), then, the restoration of the nitrogen N1 lone pair (SSD-III), and finally, the formation of the last O1-H1 bond (SSD-IV). For the second step, the formation of hydroxide ion is noted, as a result of the disappearance of V(C6,O7) basin and the transformation of C6-N1 single bond into double one (SSD-IV). Finally, the appearance of V(O7,H2) basin lead to the elimination of water molecule within the last domain is observed.