Copper iodide (21.5 mg, 0.113 mmol), trans-1,2-diamino cyclohexane (0.041 mL, 0.339 mmol) and potassium carbonate (313 mg, 2.26 mmol) were added to 1,4-Dioxane (15 mL) previously sparged with argon (10 minutes). The reaction mixture was sparged with argon for a further 10 minutes, followed by the addition of 1-(4-methyl-pyridin-3-yl)-imidazolidin-2-one (I-14b: 200 mg, 1.13 mmol) and 2-bromo naphthalene (234 mg, 1.13 mmol). The resulting mixture was heated to reflux at 110° C. for 15 hours. The reaction was monitored by TLC (10% MeOH in chloroform). The reaction mixture was filtered through a celite and the bed was washed with chloroform. The organic layer was dried over Na2SO4 and concentrated. Purification by column chromatography (using silica gel of mesh size of 60-120, 1% MeOH in chloroform as eluent) afforded 250 mg (73% yield) of 1-(4-methyl-pyridin-3-yl)-3-naphthalen-2-yl-imidazolidin-2-one.
