Indoles Friedel-Crafts addition

In 2006, Xu and Xia et al. revealed the catalytic activity of commercially available D-camphorsulfonic acid (CS A) in the enantioselective Michael-type Friedel-Crafts addition of indoles 29 to chalcones 180 attaining moderate enantiomeric excess (75-96%, 0-37% ee) for the corresponding p-indolyl ketones 181 (Scheme 76) [95], This constitutes the first report on the stereoselectivity of o-CSA-mediated transformations. In the course of their studies, the authors discovered a synergistic effect between the ionic liquid BmimBr (l-butyl-3-methyl-l/f-imidazohum bromide) and d-CSA. For a range of indoles 29 and chalcone derivatives 180, the preformed BmimBr-CSA complex (24 mol%) gave improved asymmetric induction compared to d-CSA (5 mol%) alone, along with similar or slightly better yields of P-indolyl ketones 181 (74-96%, 13-58% ee). The authors attribute the beneficial effect of the BmimBr-D-CSA combination to the catalytic Lewis acid activation of Brpnsted acids (LBA). Notably, the direct addition of BmimBr to the reaction mixture of indole, chalcone, d-CSA in acetonitrile did not influence the catalytic efficiency. 

Scheme 76 Michael-type Friedel-Crafts addition of indoles to chalcones...

Later, the same group reported the Friedel-Crafts addition of unprotected indoles to enecarbamates containing aliphatic substituents (Scheme 5.6) [13]. Use... 

Asymmetric Friedel-Crafts additions of indole (19) to N-sulfonyl aldimines (31) are also possible. Bn-BOX (32)/Cu(OTf)2 provides chiral 3-indolylmethanamine derivatives (33) in moderate to good yields and excellent enantioselectivities (Scheme 17.6) [11]. 

Pseudo-C3-symmetrical trisoxazoline copper(II) complexes prove to be excellent catalysts in the Friedel-Crafts alkylation of indoles with alkylidene malonates (Eq. 7.13). Water tolerance of chiral catalyst trisoxazoline/Cu(OTf)2 was examined, and it was found that the addition of up to 200 equivalents of water relative to the catalyst in /,vo-butyl... 

The C2-symmetric bifunctional tridentate bis(thiazoline) 222 has been shown to promote the zinc(II)-catalyzed asymmetric Michael addition of nitroalkanes to nitroalkenes in high enantioselectivity <06JA7418>. The corresponding bis(oxazoline) ligand provides comparable enantioselectivity but higher product yield. The same bis(thiazoline) ligand has also been evaluated in the enantioselective Friedel-Crafts alkylation of indoles, but the enantioselectivity is moderate <06OL2115>. 

Asides from the application of imines on conjugate addition reactions, Deng [87, 88] reported the first asymmetric chiral thiourea catalyzed Friedel-Crafts reaction of indoles with iV-tosyl imines (Scheme 35). The reaction was receptive to various aromatic, heteroaromatic, and aliphatic imines in good yield and high enantioselec-tivity (Scheme 36). 

Two years after the discovery of the first asymmetric Br0nsted acid-catalyzed Friedel-Crafts alkylation, the You group extended this transformation to the use of indoles as heteroaromatic nucleophiles (Scheme 11). iV-Sulfonylated aldimines 28 are activated with the help of catalytic amounts of BINOL phosphate (5)-3k (10 mol%, R = 1-naphthyl) for the reaction with unprotected indoles 29 to provide 3-indolyl amines 30 in good yields (56-94%) together with excellent enantioselec-tivities (58 to >99% ee) [21], Antilla and coworkers demonstrated that A-benzoyl-protected aldimines can be employed as electrophiles for the addition of iV-benzylated indoles with similar efficiencies [22]. Both protocols tolerate several aryl imines and a variety of substituents at the indole moiety. In addition, one example of the use of an aliphatic imine (56%, 58% ee) was presented. 

Mechanistically, the Brpnsted acid-catalyzed Friedel-Crafts reaction presumably involves a tantomerism of enamide 127 to the corresponding A -acetyl-protected imine. Snbseqnent addition of indole 29 affords amide 128 (Scheme 52). 

HF calculations with the 6-31G(d) basis set were used to study the mechanism of the Michael addition (or Friedel-Crafts alkylation) reaction of indole with dimethyl alkylidenemalonate. This reaction proceeds through two transition states, TSi and TS2 in the first step, assumed to be rate determining, the new C-C bond is formed, whereas in the second step, proton transfer from indole to malonate occurs with the formation of the new C-H bond. The calculations show that the transfer and interaction of the 7r-electrons in the reactant molecules may play an important role in the cleavage of the original C=C bond and the formation of the new bonds (C-C and C-H) the electron transfer is believed to be the driving force for the reaction to occur. 

As indicated from computational studies, the catalyst-activated iminium ion MM3-2 was expected to form with only the (E)-conformation to avoid nonbonding interactions between the substrate double bond and the gem-dimethyl substituents on the catalyst framework. In addition, the benzyl group of the imidazolidinone moiety should effectively shield the iminium-ion Si-face, leaving the Re-face exposed for enantioselective bond formation. The efficiency of chiral amine 1 in iminium catalysis was demonstrated by its successful application in several transformations such as enantioselective Diels-Alder reactions [6], nitrone additions [12], and Friedel-Crafts alkylations of pyrrole nucleophiles [13]. However, diminished reactivity was observed when indole and furan heteroaromatics where used for similar conjugate additions, causing the MacMillan group to embark upon studies to identify a more reactive and versatile amine catalyst. This led ultimately to the discovery of the second-generation imidazolidinone catalyst 3 (Fig. 3.1, bottom) [14],... 

The use of other nucleophilic species to perform Friedel-Crafts alkylations to a,/ -unsaturated aldehydes has also been investigated, with success. For example, indoles [14, 83] and anilines [18, 84] have been added to a,/ -unsaturated aldehydes, providing 1,4-addition products in good yields and excellent enantioselec-tivities. Again, the importance of such an approach is demonstrated by the suc-... 

Indoles can be used as radical acceptors instead of 63 [120, 121]. Simple and twofold reactions giving either 3-alkylindoles [120] or l,l-bis(3-indolyl)alkanes [121] were observed in 16-72% and 54-90% yield, respectively. In both methods the indole is subject to radical addition in 3-position. The resulting a-amino radical undergoes a further oxidation and deprotonation to the 3-substituted indole. In the case of twofold additions, the second indole unit is introduced by a subsequent polar Friedel-Crafts-type alkylation. 

Historically, Friedel-Crafts acylations of N-unsubstituted indoles were found to provide a mixture of 3-acyl- and 1,3-diacylindoles. Last year, Yoshino disclosed a novel method for the regioselective C-3 acylation of N-unsubstituted indoles with acyl chlorides in the presence of dialkylaluminum chlorides in a process that obviated the need for prior N-protection . Intriguingly, despite the known susceptibility of ind(jles towards acid-catalyzed dimerization processes, Yoshino nevertheless pretreated the indoles 166 with the Lewis acid prior to addition of the acid chlorides, an artifice that in some way may account for the observed selectivity for the desired 3-acyl derivatives J67. Ottoni confirms the effectiveness of this sequence and also notes the importance of added nitromethane as cosolvent <010L1005>. 

Finally, there is also a relevant example of an intermolecular conjugate Friedel-Crafts/electrophilic amination cascade developed very recently by Melchiorre in which 2-methyl-IH-indole reacted with a variety of a,p-unsatu-rated aldehydes and dialkyl azodicarboxylates in the presence of a primary amine catalyst, leading to the formation of a family of products containing two contiguous stereocenters, one of them a quaternary one (Scheme 7.43). This reaction started with the conjugate addition of 2-methyl-lH-indole to the enal... 

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