Diversity-Oriented Synthesis of Indole-Fused Polycyclic Scaffolds via Rhodium-Catalyzed NH-Indole-Directed C-H Coupling of 2-Phenyl-1H-indoles with Propargylic Alcohol Derivatives

Diversity-oriented synthesis strategy for the efficient assembly of indole-fused polycyclic scaffolds via rhodium-catalyzed NH-indole-directed C-H coupling with propargylic alcohol derivatives in a regioselective manner was developed. Five 2-phenyl-1H-indole-embedded core skeletons were synthesized. In particular, three different indole-fused exo-olefin-containing polycycles were realized, which may be manipulated for further chemistry.