Palladium-catalyzed annulation of diarylamines with olefins through C-H activation: direct access to N-arylindoles
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Updated: Apr 24, 2026

Facile Preparation of 2Z,4E-Dienamides by the Olefination of Electron-deficient Alkenes with Allyl Acetate
Published on: June 21, 2017
Upendra Sharma1, Rajesh Kancherla, Togati Naveen
1Department of Chemistry, Indian Institute of Technology Bombay, Powai, Mumbai-400 076 (India); Current address: Natural Plant Product Division, CSIR-IHBT, Palampur, H.P., India.
Abstract:
A palladium-catalyzed dehydrogenative coupling between diarylamines and olefins has been discovered for the synthesis of substituted indoles. This intermolecular annulation approach incorporates readily available olefins for the first time and obviates the need of any additional directing group. An ortho palladation, olefin coordination, and β-migratory insertion sequence has been proposed for the generation of olefinated intermediate, which is found to produce the expected indole moiety.
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