Construction of Indoline-Fused Tetrahydroisoquinolines through a Domino Coupling Reaction Catalyzed by CuCoFe Layered Double Hydroxide.

A convenient catalytic protocol for efficiently constructing indoline-fused tetrahydroisoquinolines based on CuCoFe layered double hydroxide (LDH) has been described. Preliminary mechanistic studies show that indoline-fused tetrahydroisoquinolines are produced via domino coupling/cyclization reactions between tetrahydroisoquinolines and active methylene compounds, including malononitrile, malonates, and analogues. CuCoFe-LDH can accelerate the Csp3-Csp3 and Csp3-Csp2 formation reactions in a single step. The research thus presents a unique opportunity to develop a synthetic methodology for N-containing polycyclic compounds.