Reusable Supported Pyridine-Mediated Cascade Synthesis of trans-2,3-Dihydroindoles via In Situ-Generated N-Ylide

Org Lett. 2023 May 26;25(20):3790-3795. doi: 10.1021/acs.orglett.3c01295. Epub 2023 May 15.

Abstract

Merrifield resin-anchored pyridines were prepared and applied as reusable mediators for trans-selective cascade synthesis of 2,3-dihydroindoles. The developed approach relied on in situ N-ylide formation followed by Michael substitution reactions. The cascade reaction was also carried out efficiently with simple pyridine. The products were further transformed into synthetically valuable compounds, and supported pyridine was reused for multiple cycles. Density functional theory calculations confirmed the trans-selectivity as the lower-energy pathway.