A substrate-induced dual utilization cascade reaction of <i>N</i>-alkyl anilines: highly site-selective sustainable synthesis of chromeno[4,3-<i>b</i>]quinolin-6-ones

We describe a novel substrate-induced cascade reaction of <i>N</i>-alkyl anilines <i>via</i> C(sp³)-N bond cleavage and reorganization into chromeno[4,3-<i>b</i>]quinolin-6-ones. <i>N</i>-alkyl anilines are not only used as a carbon source, but also the waste group was trapped by 4-hydroxy coumarin. The calculation of green metrics shows that our protocol is more efficient and green with lower emission than before. Additionally, a gram-scale reaction and one-pot synthesis of bioactive molecules further demonstrate the potential application of our protocol in the pharmaceutical industry.