Metal-Free Synthesis of 2-Substituted Quinolines via High Chemoselective Domino Condensation/Aza-Prins Cyclization/Retro-Aldol between 2-Alkenylanilines with β-Ketoesters

J Org Chem. 2020 Nov 6;85(21):14042-14054. doi: 10.1021/acs.joc.0c02063. Epub 2020 Oct 27.

Abstract

A highly chemoselective domino condensation/aza-Prins cyclization/retro-aldol between 2-alkenylanilines with β-dicarbonyl compounds under metal-free conditions was accomplished, giving a large category of valuable 2-substituted quinolines in good yields with excellent functional group toleration. This newly established process, adopting β-ketoesters as masked C1 synthons via C-C cleavage, could even be simplified into a three-component [3 + 2 + 1] domino version consisting of exceedingly low-priced commercial starting materials. The synthetic application of products was exemplified by several intriguing chemical operations.