Cu-Catalyzed Cyclization/Coupling of Alkenyl Aldimines. Indolization of Aldehydes, Anilines and Arylzinc Reagents

We report a Cu(II)-catalyzed cyclization/coupling of alkenyl aldimines with arylzinc reagents to create complex indole-3-diarylmethane derivatives. The aldimines are readily available by simple dehydration, making the process a formal three-component reaction that strategically combines alkenyl aldehydes, anilines and arylzinc reagents to generate substituted indole-3-diarylmethane cores. Since the cyclization/coupling of alkenyl aldimines is unknown to date, the current method discloses an uncharted chemical space with regard to both the substrate and product diversity for this class of reaction.