Ruthenium-catalyzed 1,3-indolyl migration within α,α-disubstituted allylic alcohols†
Abstract
The functional group migration strategy could facilitate the construction of complex structures from relatively simple starting materials. In contrast to the well-developed transition-metal catalyzed intramolecular 1,3-hydride migration, 1,3-carbon migration in allylic alcohols is marginally less reported. Herein, we report a protocol for Ru-catalyzed 1,3-indolyl migration under mild conditions. In this study, we disclosed that indoles have better migration ability than phenyl groups. Overall, this catalytic system enabled the simultaneous selective C(sp3)–C(sp2) bond cleavage and reconstruction, which allow for an immediate synthesis of β-indolyl ketones with a broad substrate scope and reasonable yields.