Journal of the American Chemical Society, Vol.129, No.17, 5332-5332, 2007
Rh(I)-catalyzed alkylation of quinolines and pyridines via C-H bond activation
The scope of heterocycle ortho-alkylation has been dramatically expanded to include pharmaceutically important pyridines and quinolines, which contain only a single nitrogen. The reactions, which are conducted at a high concentration (0.8 M), can be performed with catalyst loadings as low as 1% Rh. Substitution ortho to the heterocycle ring nitrogen is required for efficient alkylation and is consistent with the intermediacy of a Rh-carbene intermediate similar to those proposed in our earlier work.