Palladium-Catalyzed Regioselective Coupling Cyclohexenone into Indoles: Atom-Economic Synthesis of ß-Indolyl Cyclohexenones and Derivatization Applications.

Herein, we report a palladium-catalyzed dehydrogenative cross-coupling of indoles with cyclic enones to give ß-indolyl cyclic enones under mild and neutral reaction conditions. The key to the success is to explore a mild condition, which ensures the indole C-H activation and subsequent syn ß-hydride elimination through rapid enolization isomerization of Pd(II)-enolate while suppressing other undesired side reactions. Synthetic utility has also been demonstrated in the flexible transformation of the coupling products to meta-phenols and benzo[a]carbazoles.