Highly enantioselective Friedel-Crafts alkylations of indoles with simple enones catalyzed by zirconium(IV)-BINOL complexes

Org Lett. 2007 Jun 21;9(13):2601-4. doi: 10.1021/ol0710820. Epub 2007 May 25.

Abstract

Complexes of BINOL-based ligands with Zr(OtBu)4 catalyze the Friedel-Crafts alkylation reaction of indoles and pyrrole with nonchelating beta-substituted alpha,beta-enones at room temperature affording the expected products with good yields and ee above 95% in most of the studied examples.