Silicon-Assisted Ethoxycarbonylmethylation ofN-Methylquinolinium and Isoquinolinium Iodides

A new regioselective route to 2-ethoxycarbonylmethyl- 1,2-dihydro-N-methylquinolines and 1-ethoxycarbonylmethyl-1,2-dihydro-N-methylisoquinolines is described starting from methylquinolinium or -isoquinolinium iodides and commercially available ethyltrimethylsilyl acetate (ETSA). The methylene carbanion was generated by fluorodesilylation using caesium fluoride. On exposure to air, the ethoxycarbonylmethyl adducts were oxidised, leading to the corresponding alkylidene derivatives 4 and 5, whereas 2a in solution led slowly to its regioisomer 6a.