Sequential Ring-Opening and Ring-Closing Reactions for Converting para-Substituted Pyridines into meta-Substituted Anilines.

Herein we report a method for converting para-substituted pyridine rings into meta-dialkylamino-substituted benzene rings through sequential ring-opening and ring-closing reactions. The nitrogen atom in the pyridine rings was replaced with a methine group, and a dialkylamino substituent was introduced onto the original unsubstituted carbon atom in the pyridine rings. This process can be formally regarded as a hybrid of the skeletal editing and C-H amination of pyridine rings.