S-Benzyl-N,N'-diphenyl substituted isothiouronium iodide as a highly efficient organocatalyst for transfer hydrogenation of 2-substituted quinolines

An isothiouronium organocatalyst prepared from thiourea was first employed to catalyze the transfer hydrogenation of various 2-alkyl and arylquinolines with Hantzsch ester as the hydrogen source. This metal-free catalyzed reduction of 2-substituted quinoline efficiently rendered good to excellent yields of tetrahydroquinolines under mild conditions with a small amount of catalyst (5 mol%). (c) 2021 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Automated summary

An isothiouronium organocatalyst prepared from thiourea was first employed to catalyze the transfer hydrogenation of various 2-alkyl and arylquinolines efficiently. Good to excellent yields of tetrahydroquinolines were obtained under mild conditions with a small amount of catalyst (5 mol%).