Cascade Knoevenagel and aza-Wittig reactions for the synthesis of substituted quinolines and quinolin-4-olsDedicated to Professor Dennis P. Curran on the occasion of his 65th birthday.Electronic supplementary information (ESI) available. See DOI: 10.1039/c8gc03180k

A [4 + 2] annulation involving cascade Knoevenagel, aza-Wittig and dehydrofluorination reactions is developed for the synthesis of substituted quinolin-4-ols including analogs bearing CF 2 H, CF 3 , and C 2 F 5 groups. This simple and highly efficient method is also applicable for the synthesis of substituted quinolines. A number of reported biologically active compounds can be readily prepared by this one-pot synthesis. Green chemistry metrics analysis of the new reaction processes provided favorable results. A [4 + 2] annulation involving cascade Knoevenagel and aza-Wittig is developed for the synthesis of substituted quinolin-4-ols and quinolines. Green chemistry metrics analysis provided favorable results.