A facile one-pot synthesis of 2-(2-pyridyl)quinolines via Povarov reaction

An efficient synthesis of 2-(2-pyridyl)quinolines was achieved via a three-component Povarov reaction of aromatic aldehydes, anilines, and ethyl vinyl ether under boron trifluoride methyl etherate (BF3 center dot O(CH3)(2)) acid catalysis. The developed methodology for the preparation of 2-(2-pyridyl)quinolines offers several advantages over previous methods including mild reaction conditions, easy work-up, a wide range of substrate applicability, and products in good yields. (C) 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.