Rare-Earth Metal Chlorides Catalyzed One-pot Syntheses of Quinolines under Solvent-free Microwave Irradiation Conditions.

Under microwave irradiation and solvent-free conditions, rare-earth metal chlorides (RECl3) have been efficient catalysts for one-pot synthesis of quinoline derivatives to give products in good to excellent yields through the multi-component reactions of aldehydes, amines, and alkynes. The rare-earth metal chlorides can be recycled for six times without notable loss of catalytic activities. This new synthetic approach has prominent features of a short reaction time, high yields of products, operational simplicity, broad substrate scopes, environmentally friendly property and commercially available catalysts. It extends the applications of rare-earth metal compounds as catalysts in organic synthesis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]