Synthesis 2015; 47(10): 1436-1446
DOI: 10.1055/s-0034-1380174
paper
© Georg Thieme Verlag Stuttgart · New York

Unusual Formal 1,2-Addition of Pyrazolones to 3-Indolylmethanols: Regiospecific Synthesis of 2,3-Disubstituted Indoles

Yan Liu
a   Jiangsu Provincial Key Laboratory of Fine Petrochemical Engineering, Changzhou University, Changzhou 213164, P. R. of China   Email: jy@cczu.edu.cn
,
Ren-Yi Zhu
b   Jiangsu Key Laboratory of Green Synthetic Chemistry for Functional Materials, School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Jiangsu Normal University, Xuzhou 221116, P. R. of China   Email: fshi@jsnu.edu.cn
,
Han-Zhu Li
b   Jiangsu Key Laboratory of Green Synthetic Chemistry for Functional Materials, School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Jiangsu Normal University, Xuzhou 221116, P. R. of China   Email: fshi@jsnu.edu.cn
,
Yan Jiang*
a   Jiangsu Provincial Key Laboratory of Fine Petrochemical Engineering, Changzhou University, Changzhou 213164, P. R. of China   Email: jy@cczu.edu.cn
,
Feng Shi*
b   Jiangsu Key Laboratory of Green Synthetic Chemistry for Functional Materials, School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Jiangsu Normal University, Xuzhou 221116, P. R. of China   Email: fshi@jsnu.edu.cn
› Author Affiliations
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Publication History

Received: 15 November 2014

Accepted after revision: 16 January 2015

Publication Date:
26 February 2015 (online)


Abstract

An unusual formal 1,2-addition reaction of pyrazol-5-ones with isatin-derived 3-indolylmethanols has been established, which is suggested to proceed via a cascade reaction sequence of oxa-Michael addition, [3,3] rearrangement, 1,3-H shift and tautomerization. During the proposed reaction pathway, [3,3]-sigmatropic rearrangement of the oxa-Michael addition product is thought to be the key step leading to the regiospecific formal 1,2-addition reaction. This approach not only provides an easy access to 2,3-disubstituted indoles, but also has realized the rarely reported formal 1,2-addition of 3-indolylmethanols with regiospecificity, which opens a new window for investigations on 3-indolylmethanol-involved transformations.

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