Revisiting the reduction of indoles by hydroboranes: A combined experimental and computational study

A combined experimental and density functional computational study was used to probe the mechanism for the reduction of indoles using simple borane BH₃·DMS (DMS?=?dimethyl sulfide). Experimental and computational studies all steer to the formation of the reduced species 1-BH₂-indolines as the resting state for this reaction, as opposed to the historically presumed formation of the unreduced 1-BH₂-indoles, before the addition of a proton source to form the final product indolines. Furthermore, it was observed that molecular H₂ was generated and consumed in the reaction. Computations put forward hydroboration followed by protodeborylation as the very reasonable mechanistic route for the formation of experimentally observed major intermediate 1-BH₂ indolines. For the H₂ consumption in the reaction, computations suggest the frustrated Lewis pair-type heterolytic splitting of H₂ by a bis(3-indolinyl)borane intermediate.