Palladium(ii)-catalyzed three-component tandem reactions: synthesis of multiply substituted quinolines

The three-component tandem reaction of 2-aminobenzonitriles, arylboronic acids and ketones allowing the synthesis of polysubstitution quinolines is reported. This strategy presents a practical, efficient, one-pot procedure that delivers functional quinolines in moderate to good yields with high functional group tolerance. To enrich the synthetic applications in accessing diverse quinolines, a new method for the introduction of halogen substituents into target products has been developed as well, which shows potential for further synthetic elaborations.