FeCl3-catalyzed decyanation of α-aminonitriles
followed by a [4 + 2] annulation with terminal alkynes has been developed
to synthesize 2,4-diaryl quinolines. A broad range of aniline, aldehyde,
and arylacetylene derivatives were well tolerated to access 2,4-diaryl
quinolines in moderate to good yields. The control experiment studies
suggested that the reaction proceeds through a nonradical pathway
involving Povarov-type [4 + 2] annulation from the in situ generated iminium species. The synthetic application of this strategy
(i) includes gram-scale synthesis and (ii) a continuous-flow process
for a few representative compounds in a shorter reaction time (22
min) and (iii) worked well with styrene as a proof of concept.