Harnessing anionic rearrangements on the benzenoid ring of quinoline for the synthesis of 6,6'-disubstituted 7,7'-dihydroxy-8,8'-biquinolyls.

7,7'-Bis(((dimethylamino)carbonyl)oxy)-8,8'-biquinolyl (5) was prepared in 71% yield by regioselective directed ortho metalation (DoM) of N,N-dimethyl O-quinol-7-yl carbamate (2) with LDA followed by oxidation with anhydrous ferric chloride. DoM of 5 with excess LDA induced double anionic ortho-Fries rearrangement and gave 6,6'-bis((dimethylamino)carbonyl)-7,7'-dihydroxy-8,8'-biquinolyl (8). Treatment of N,N-diethyl O-(8-iodoquinol-7-yl) carbamate (16) with LDA in THF solvent at -78 degrees C, followed by addition of anhydrous ferric chloride, resulted in an efficient tandem halogen-dance dimerization process which afforded 7,7'-bis(((diethylamino)carbonyl)oxy)-6,6'-diiodo-8,8'-biquinolyl (17) directly in 54% yield.