Iron-Catalyzed Cyclization of Ketoxime Carboxylates and Tertiary Anilines for the Synthesis of Pyridines

A novel and efficient iron-catalyzed cyclization of ketoxime carboxylates and N,N-dialkylanilines for the modular synthesis of diverse pyridines was developed. The reaction was initiated by Fe-catalyzed N-O bond cleavage of ketoxime carboxylates in the presence of tertiary anilines. The methylene carbon on N,N-dialkylanilines functioned as a source of one-carbon synthon in the reaction. The reaction used readily available starting materials, tolerated various functional groups, and afforded 2,4-disubstituted and 2,4,6-trisubstituted pyridines in good to high yields under mild conditions.