Efficient one-pot synthesis of substituted pyridines through multicomponent reaction

A facile and convenient synthesis of substituted pyridines has been developed via a one-pot multicomponent reaction of easily available 1,3-dicarbonyl compounds, aromatic aldehydes, malononitrile and alcohol in the presence of NaOH under mild conditions. A series of functionalized pyridines were thus obtained by this multicomponent reaction, in which four new bonds were formed in a highly chemo- and regioselective manner, and alcohol played dual roles as both reactant and reaction medium. Particularly valuable features of this protocol including mild conditions, simple execution, broad substrate scope, and good yields of products make it an efficient and promising synthetic strategy to build pyridine skeleton.