Indolyl cation radical

Examples of reaction mechanisms which involve nucleophilic attack on pyrrolyl and indolyl cations and radical cations are cited elsewhere. 

Recently, evidence for the transient ex istence of cation-radicals from simple pyrroles and indoles has been furnished by the observation of anodic regiospecific cyanation of these heterocycles.455 Both heterocycles are preferentially cyanated at the 2-position. Methyl side chains at these positions are also activated to cyanation and deuteration. Indole cation-radicals have been generated by photoionization in an aqueous medium.456 Unsubstituted at N, their lifetime in neutral solution is 10-6sec before they lose the N-proton however, it is longer in more acidic conditions.456 The photophysical properties of indole, its cation-radical, and neutral radical have been the subject of a recent theoretical analysis.457 On anodic oxidation of 2,3-diphenyl indole in acetonitrile, the initially formed cation-radicals dimerize to a product identified, primarily on the basis of 13C NMR, as 3-(5-indolyl)-indolenine (141).458... 

Indolyl radicals can be generated under standard conditions by reacting 2-bromoindole with tributyltin hydride. 3-Methyl-1-tosylindole can be cyanated at C-2 in good yield by a mixture of TMSCN and PIFA via oxidation of the indole to a cation radical, then addition of cyanide anion. ... 

In anodic oxidation of 2,3-diphenylindole (139) in CH3CN-Et4NC104, the initially formed radical-cation dimerizes to a product identified, primarily on the basis of 13C-NMR, as a 3-(5-indolyl)indolenine (140), which is formed in 90-95% yield203 [Eq. (93)]. 

Photocyclization of iV-chloroacetyl amines has been used previously in the synthesis of nitrogen heterocycles, and the reaction of the substituted amine (166) leads to a benzazepinone that can be elaborated to give pseudoprotopine alkaloids. Y-Chloroacetyl derivatives of the seven isomeric indolylethylamines give azepinoindoles and azocinoindoles by photocyclization. Quantum yields for the reaction are correlated with calculated (CNDO/2 and INDO) electron densities, and on this basis mechanisms are suggested the conclusion is that both indole radical cations and indolyl radicals (for the 1-substituted compounds) are... 

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