National and Local Joint Engineering Research Center for Green Preparation Technology of Biobased Materials, Key Laboratory of Intelligent Supramolecular Chemistry at the University of Yunnan Province, School of Chemistry and Environment, Yunnan Minzu University, Kunming, 650500, P. R. China. [Email]
An efficient and concise one-pot strategy for the synthesis of multisubstituted pyridones via a one-pot three-component cascade reaction catalyzed by Cs2CO3 under solvent-free conditions has been developed. The substituent-controlled chemoselective cycloaddition process involved steps including a Michael addition/ethanol elimination/intermolecular cyclization sequence utilizing anilines, diethyl acetylenedicarboxylate, and diethyl ethoxymethylenemalonate. In doing so, various 2-pyridone and 4-pyridone species (41 examples) could be obtained in good to excellent yields.
