Mild and Efficient Silver(I) Triflate Catalyzed Synthesis of 2-Aryl-2,3-dihydroquinolin-4(1H)-ones, and Their Antioxidant Activities

Biologically interesting 2-aryl-2,3-dihydroquinolin-4(1H)-ones were synthesized using a mild and efficient one-pot procedure starting from o-aminoacetophenones and aromatic aldehydes in the presence of silver(I) triflate. This synthetic protocol provides rapid access to a variety of 2-aryl-2,3-dihydroquinolin-4(1H)-ones. This technique has several advantages, such as the use of easily available starting materials, the efficiency of the catalyst, a simple operation, and tolerance of a wide range of functionality in the aldehydes. Screening of the synthesized compounds for their antioxidant properties revealed that two compounds (with EC50 = 15.42 M and 15.16 M) exhibit a potent free-radical scavenging ability towards TEAC free radicals compared to the standard, Trolox.