Ligand-Free Copper-Catalyzed One-Pot Synthesis of Indole-2-carboxylic Esters: One-Pot Synthesis of Indole-2-carboxylic Esters

Rhodium-catalysed additive-free alkoxycarbonylation of indoles: 2,4,6-trimethylbenzoic acid-based carbonate anhydrides as a versatile alkoxycarboxyl source

We report a CO-free approach to indole-2-carboxylic esters: rhodium-catalysed C(2)-alkoxycarbonylation of indoles with 2,4,6-trimethylbenzoic acid-based carbonate anhydrides. Selective C-O bond cleavage of the anhydrides facilitates the introduction of various alkoxycarbonyl groups. Control experiments suggest that merging a rhodium catalyst and KI promotes the in situ formation of the RhI species.

Carboxylic Acid-Promoted Single-Step Indole Construction from Simple Anilines and Ketones via Aerobic Cross-Dehydrogenative Coupling

The cross-dehydrogenative coupling (CDC) reaction is an efficient strategy for indole synthesis. However, most CDC methods require special substrates, and the presence of inherent groups limits the versatility for further transformation. A carboxylic acid-promoted aerobic catalytic system is developed herein for a single-step synthesis of indoles from simple anilines and ketones. This versatile system is featured by the broad substrate scope and the use of ambient oxygen as an oxidant and is convenient and economical for both laboratory and industry applications. The existence of the labile hydrogen at C-3 and the highly transformable carbonyl at C-2 makes the indoles versatile building blocks for organic synthesis in different contexts. Computational studies based on the density functional theory (DFT) suggest that the rate-determining step is carboxylic acid-assisted condensation of the substrates, rather than the functionalization of aryl C-H. Accordingly, a pathway via imine intermediates is deemed to be the preferred mechanism. In contrast to the general deduction, the in situ formed imine, instead of its enamine isomer, is believed to be involved in the first ligand exchange and later carbopalladation of the α-Me, which shed new light on this indolization mechanism.

Synthesis of Pyrimidine Fused Quinolines by Ligand-Free Copper-Catalyzed Domino Reactions

Herein, we report two novel methods for the synthesis of pyrimidine fused quinolines using a one-pot C-C and C-N bond forming strategy from the reaction of 6-aminouracils with 2-bromobenzaldehydes or 2-bromobenzyl bromide derivatives in the presence of 10 mol % CuCl₂ without using any ligand. The reaction of 2-bromobenzaldehyde or its derivatives with 6-aminouracils in the presence of K₂CO₃ as base and a catalytic amount of CuCl₂ in DMF medium under microwave heating conditions provides corresponding pyrimidine fused quinoline derivatives in good yields within 30 min. Alternatively, pyrimidine fused quinoline derivatives have been synthesized from the reaction of 2-bromobenzyl bromides with 6-aminouracil derivatives in the presence of molecular oxygen, CuCl₂ (10 mol %), and K₂CO₃ as base in DMF under reflux conditions. Structures of all the products were unambiguously confirmed by spectroscopic techniques and by recording single crystal XRD of 3a.

Cu nanoparticles immobilized on montmorillonite by biquaternary ammonium salts: a highly active and stable heterogeneous catalyst for cascade sequence to indole-2-carboxylic esters

Cu-Q-MMT catalyst was prepared by immobilizing Cu nanoparticals on the biquaternary ammonium salts modified montmorillonite and exhibited high activity for cascade sequence to indole-2-carboxylic esters.

Synthesis of Indole-2-carboxylate Derivatives via Palladium-Catalyzed Aerobic Amination of Aryl C-H Bonds

A direct oxidative C-H amination affording 1-acetyl indolecarboxylates starting from 2-acetamido-3-arylacrylates has been achieved. Indole-2-carboxylates can be targeted with a straightforward deacetylation of the initial reaction products. The C-H amination reaction is carried out using a catalytic Pd(II) source with oxygen as the terminal oxidant. The scope and application of this chemistry is demonstrated with good to high yields for numerous electron-rich and electron-poor substrates. Further reaction of selected products via Suzuki arylation and deacetylation provides access to highly functionalized indole structures.