Partial Reduction of Electron-Deficient Pyridines

The partial reduction of electron-deficient pyridines is described herein. Mono- and disubstituted pyridines can be transformed into functionalized dihydropyridines using either Birch reduction conditions or sodium/naphthalene in THF. The compounds formed by these high-yielding reductive alkylation protocols have potential as synthetic intermediates, and we have shown that bicyclo compounds containing 6,5, 6,6, and 6,7 ring systems can be prepared in one step via a base-promoted cylization.