One-pot synthesis of indoles and quinolinones fromortho-tosylaminophenyl-substitutedpara-quinone methides

A facile one-pot synthesis has been developed through alkylation/acylation ofortho-tosylaminophenyl-substitutedpara-quinone methides followed by an intramolecular 1,6-conjugate addition and oxidation sequence. This cascade reaction occurs readily in good yield (up to 95%), providing a divergent synthetic approach to structurally diverse 2,3-disubstituted indoles and 3,4-diaryl-substituted quinolinones.