Manganese(I)-NNSe Pincer Complex Mediated Dehydrogenative Cyclization to Synthesize 2-Aryl-2,3-dihydroquinolin-4(1H)-ones

Abstract

A catalytic one-pot cascade dehydrogenative cyclization of 1-(2-aminophenyl)ethanone using primary alcohols is presented. The reaction is catalyzed by an earth-abundant manganese pincer complex of NNSe ligand, without any solvent, additives, base, or hydrogen acceptor, liberating dihydrogen and water as the only byproducts. Compared to an earlier reported four-step dehydrogenative coupling protocol, only a single step is required to synthesize 2-aryl-2,3-dihydroquinolin-4(1H)-ones.