Electrochemical ruthenium‐catalyzed C8‐regioselective aroylation of quinoline N‐oxides with aryl α‐ketoacids

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An electrochemical method with high faradaic efficiency was developed for the ruthenium‐catalyzed C8‐regioselective aroylation of quinoline N ‐oxides under oxidant‐free conditions by using aryl α‐ketoacids as the aroylation reagent. A series of 8‐aroylquinoline N ‐oxides were effectively synthesized in moderate‐to‐excellent yields. Furthermore, the proposed method was successfully applied to the gram‐scale synthesis of a tubulin polymerization inhibitor. Additionally, a plausible reaction mechanism for the decarboxylation radical acylation was proposed on the basis of the results of cyclic voltammetry and control experiments. Overall, this method provides a novel solution for the C8‐regioselective aroylation of quinoline N ‐oxides.