Fe-Catalyzed decarbonylative cascade reaction of N-aryl cinnamamides with aliphatic aldehydes to construct 3,4-dihydroquinolin-2(1H)-ones

A practical Fe-catalyzed decarbonylative cascade reaction of N-aryl cinnamamides with aliphatic aldehydes to provide C3 alkylated 3,4-dihydroquinolin-2(1H)-ones is developed. Aliphatic aldehydes were oxidatively decarbonylated into 1°, 2° and 3° alkyl radicals conveniently, allowing for the subsequent cascade construction of C(sp³)–C(sp³) and C(sp³)–C(sp²) bonds via radical addition and HAS-type cyclization. The importance of the amide linkage and the selectivity of the 6-endo-trig over 5-exo-trig cyclization pathway were elucidated by experimental results and DFT calculations.