A novel approach to vapor-phase synthesis of 2- and 4-methylquinoline from lactic acid and aniline

A novel and green route for vapor-phase synthesis of 2- and 4-methylquinoline was provided in this work, in which lactic acid as one of the reactants was for the first time employed. Various influencing factors, including types of catalysts, reaction temperature and stability of catalyst were investigated systematically. The results showed that a 67.6% total yield of quinolines was obtained over the HBeta catalyst. The characterization by using BET, NH3-TPD and pyridine-IR techniques revealed that strong Brønsted acid sites are favorable for generation of 2- and 4-methylquinoline whereas Lewis acid sites could increase the proportion of 4-methylquinoline in target products. Besides, a feasible reaction pathway to synthesize 2- and 4-methylquinoline was proposed on the basis of the reaction products.