The tandem reaction combining radical and ionic processes: an efficient approach to substituted 3,4-dihydroquinolin-2-ones

3,4-Dihydroquinolin-2-ones are of great importance in the areas of pharmaceuticals. However, the direct intramolecular radical cyclizations of the corresponding amide compounds favor 5-exo products 2. Reports on the radical cyclization reactions producing 3,4-dihydroquinolin-2-one derivatives are limited. Herein, an efficient tandem reaction combining radical and ionic processes was developed, which provides a practical synthetic strategy for the synthesis of substituted 3,4-dihydroquinolin-2-ones from simple and readily available precursors under neutral reaction conditions.