A Novel Approach to 2,2-Disubstituted 1,2-Dihydro-4-phenylquinolines

The reaction of 2-(1-phenylvinyl)aniline and 4-chloro-2-(1-phenylvinyl)aniline with acetophenone derivatives, 1-(naphthalen-1-yl)ethanone and 1-(furan-2-yl)ethanone in toluene at 110–115° with toluene-4-sulfonic acid as a catalyst leads in good-to-excellent yields to the 2,2-disubstituted 1,2-dihydro-4-phenyl-quinolines 1–18 (Scheme 1, Table). The structure of the new racemic 1,2-dihydroquinolines 1–18 is determined by NMR spectroscopy. A reaction mechanism proceeding via a 6π-electrocyclic rearrangement of 2-(1-phenylvinyl)anils 19 as the key step is proposed for the formation of these compounds (Scheme 1). The scope and limitations of the novel methods are discussed (Scheme 2).