Abstract
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•An efficient microwave-mediated synthesis of indoloquinolines is reported.•Reaction uses an environmentally benign bismuth nitrate as a catalyst.•Mechanistically, this one-pot transformation is unique.•Proposed plausible mechanism for this one-pot transformation.
Microwave-induced Bi(NO3)3-catalyzed one-pot synthesis of a series of linear indoloquinolines is accomplished under mild reaction conditions. While majority of these examples were carried out under solvent-free conditions, in a few cases, minimal quantity of THF is used as solvent. The methodology involves several unique reaction pathways, providing different linear indolo[2,3-b]quinolines in good yields from readily available starting materials and using environmentally benign Bi(NO3)3·5H2O as catalyst.