Regio- and chemoselective catalytic partial transfer hydrogenation of quinolines by dinuclear aluminum species
2025-09-05
Catalytic reduction of quinolines has gained continuous interest in both academia and industry, providing direct and efficient access to tetrahydroquinolines or 1,2-dihydroquinolines. The catalytic preparation of tetrahydroquinolines has been extensively studied by transition metal complexes. By contrast, the related catalytic synthesis of 1,2-dihydroquinolines remains underdeveloped due to the difficulties in achieving precise control over both chemo- and regioselectivity. Here, we demonstrate a catalytic 1,2-reduction of quinolines using a dinuclear aluminum complex, allowing for the highly selective synthesis of a rich array of 1,2-dihydroquinolines through the combination of bimetallic catalysis and metal-ligand cooperation. These investigations showcase the capacity of main group metal catalysts to achieve reactivities distinct from well-studied transition-metal catalysis.