Metal-free intramolecular amination: one-pot tandem synthesis of 3-substituted 4-quinolones.

3-Substituted 4-quinolones were synthesized using a one-pot metal-free strategy in moderate to quantitative yields. Carried out in dimethylsulfoxide (DMSO) via a sequential addition of materials, the methodology is tolerant of a wide range of functional groups and applicable to library synthesis.