A theoretical study of the protonation of methylindole derivatives

Ab initio calculations on indole and all its mono-substituted methyl derivatives, using an STO-3G minimal basis set, show that the most basic site is C3. Protonation at the nitrogen atom cannot compete with protonation at C3; and C2 is the less basic site in all cases. The basicity increases with methyl substitution, with the only exception of 3-methyl indole. A good linear correlation exists between calculated and corresponding thermodynamics pK values. 2-Aminoindole is a much stronger base than methylindoles and its high pK value can be explained by the strong interactions with the solvent through tautomeric forms which accumulate positive charge at the NH₂ group. Intramolecular quenching of the fluorescence of some indole derivatives involves intramolecular proton transfer to C4 rather than C2. Reasons why ring nitrogens can behave as either π-acceptors or π-donors in this series are discussed.