Division of Organic Chemistry, Indian Institute of Chemical Technology, Hyderabad 500 007, India
Abstract:
Indoles undergo smooth alkylation with allylic and benzylic alcohols in the presence of 10 mol % of InBr3 under mild conditions to produce 3-allyl- and 3-benzyl indoles, respectively, in excellent yields and with high selectivity. This is the first example of the alkylation of indoles with benzylic alcohols using InBr3 as an acid catalyst.