M. Beller et al., Synthesis of 2,3-dihydroindoles, indoles, and anilines by transition metal-free amination of aryl chlorides, J ORG CHEM, 66(4), 2001, pp. 1403-1412
Aliphatic and aromatic amines react with 2- and 3-chlorostyrene in the pres
ence of potassium tert-butoxide to give N-substituted 2,3-dihydroindoles in
good yields. The combination of this dominoamination protocol with a suita
ble dehydrogenation reaction gives access to pharmacologically interesting
indoles in a one-pot procedure. Overall product yields of N-substituted ind
oles >50% are obtained by this method starting from commercially available
substrates. In addition to the intramolecular base-promoted amination of ar
omatic C-Cl bonds, metal-free intermolecular aminations of aryl chlorides w
ith primary and secondary amines are described. The use of potassium tert-b
utoxide as base allows the synthesis of various anilines in good to excelle
nt yields. Due to the formation of aryne intermediates, either N-substitute
d anilines or meta-substituted anilines are produced with excellent selecti
vities.