Enamination of a wide various primary amines was successfully carried out in the presence of catalytic amounts of cerium chloride heptahydrate in ionic liquid and solvent-free conditions as 'green' media under mild reaction conditions.
2-Functionalized 4-nitroanilines were readily synthesized by ringtransformation using 3,5-dinitro-2-pyridone and enaminones prepared from 1,3-dicarbonyl compounds and amines. Modification of the amino group and the ortho-position could be achieved by simply changing the enaminones. Using this strategy, functional groups such as acetyl, benzoyl, and ethoxycarbonyl groups could be introduced into the