Abstract
A palladium N-heterocyclic
carbene catalyzed methodology for the
synthesis of substituted, N-unprotected indoles and azaindoles is
reported. The protocol permits access to various, highly substituted
members of these classes of compounds. Although two possible reaction
pathways (deprotonative and Heck-like) can be proposed, control experiments,
supported by computational studies, point toward a deprotonative mechanism
being operative.