Silver-Catalyzed Oxidative Coupling of Aniline and Ene Carbonyl/Acetylenic Carbonyl Compounds: An Efficient Route for the Synthesis of Quinolines

An efficient silver-mediated coupling of aniline with ene carbonyl/acetylenic carbonyl compounds for the synthesis of quinolines is reported. The transformation is effective for a broad range of substrates, thus enabling the expansion of substituent architectures on the heterocyclic framework. The electronic properties of the substituents on the amine have been investigated. It was found that molecules with both electron-donating and electron-withdrawing substituents were suitable substrates for this transformation, and the expected products were obtained in moderate to excellent yields. The use of a single catalytic system to mediate chemical transformations in a synthetic operation is important for the development of new atom-economic strategies and this strategy is efficient in building complex structures from simple starting materials in an environmentally benign fashion.