Metal-free, ionic liquid-mediated synthesis of functionalized quinolines

An expedient and metal-free synthetic protocol for construction of substituted quinolines has been developed from anilines and phenylacetaldehydes using imidazolium cation-based ionic liquids as the reaction medium. Mechanistic analysis indicated that the reaction occurs through C-C and C-N bond formation to produce isolable 2,3-disubstituted quinoline intermediates, which undergo C-C bond cleavage to produce 3-substituted quinolines. The reaction proceeds smoothly with a range of functionalities in good to excellent yields. Advantages of this protocol include metal-free, environmentally friendly, recyclable reaction media, higher yields and shorter reaction times, and thus is promising for the efficient combinatorial synthesis of structurally diverse 2,3-disubstituted and 3-substituted quinolines.