Iron-Promoted Tandem Reaction of Anilines with Styrene Oxides via C-C Cleavage for the Synthesis of Quinolines

A novel iron-promoted tandem reaction of anilines with styrene oxides via C-C cleavage and C-H activation has been developed. The reaction utilizes an inexpensive FeCl3 as promoter and is suitable for forming a variety of 3-aryiquinolines from the simple and readily available starting materials.