Ethyl 3-(2,4-dioxocyclohexyl)propanoate as a novel precursor for N-substituted 4,4a,5,6-tetrahydroquinoline-2,7(1H,3H)-diones and their corresponding 3,4-dihydro-7-hydroxyquinolin-2(1H)-ones and 7-hydroxyquinolin-2(1H)-ones synthesis.

Ethyl 3-(2,4-dioxocyclohexyl)propanoate has been explored as a precursor for the synthesis of N-substituted 4,4a,5,6-tetrahydroquinoline-2,7(1H,3H)-diones following conventional protecvtion, selective amidation, and deprotective-cyclization approaches. Moreover, a facile process for the selective dehydrogenative aromatization of these diones was developed to afford the corresponding N-substituted 3,4-dihydro-7-hydroxyquinolin-2(1H)-ones and N-substituted 7-hydroxyquinolin-2(1H)-ones under mild conditions.