To a suspension of (R)-1-((4-(4-nitrophenoxy)quinolin-7-yl)oxy)propan-2-ol (3.6 g, 10.6 mmol) and HCOOK (6.2 g, 74.1 mmol) in THF/H2O (33 mL/11 mL) was added a catalytic amount of 10% Pd/C (33 mg). After stirring at 73° C. for 5 hours, the reaction mixture was cooled to room temperature. The mixture was filtered through a celite pad and the filter cake was washed with DCM (50 mL). The organic phase was separated, dried over Na2SO4, and concentrated in vacuo. The residue was purified by a column chromatography on silica gel (EtOAc/PE=1:1) to give the title compound as a yellow solid (2.5 g, 76.2%).
