Regioselective Metal-Free Cross-Coupling of Quinoline N-Oxides with Boronic Acids

A novel and operationally simple one-step C–H bond functionalization of quinoline N-oxides to 2-substituted quinolines was developed. This approach enables the regioselective functionalization under external oxidant- and metal-free conditions. The developed transformation represents the first application of the Petasis reaction in functionalization of heterocycles.