Radical cation salt induced tandem cyclization between anilines and N-vinyl amides: synthesis of 2-methyl-4-anilino-1,2,3,4-tetrahydroquinoline derivatives

Abstract

A tandem cyclization of imines with N-vinyllactams induced by TBPA + was investigated, and a series of 2-methyl-4-anilino-1,2,3,4-tetrahydroquinolines were synthesized based on a domino process in which N-vinyllactams serve as an acetaldehyde surrogate. A single electron transfer mechanism was proposed and radical cation salt acts as both a Lewis acid and one electron oxidant to induce such transformation.