Palladium-catalyzed synthesis of 2,3-disubstituted indoles via arylation of ortho -alkynylanilines with arylsiloxanes.

In this study, we report the electrophilic cyclization of N , N -dimethyl- o -alkynylanilines with arylsiloxanes in the presence of [Pd(OAc) 2 ] and Ag 2 O catalytic system, which leads to the efficient synthesis of indoles, similar to the one that is obtained through Larock indole synthesis. A range of aryl(trimethoxy)silanes with EDGs and EWGs were successfully utilized for the synthesis of a diverse variety of substituted indoles via the cleavage of the C-Si bond. This protocol exhibits good functional group tolerance and wide substrate scope to provide 2,3-diaryl- N -methylindoles in 26-88% yields.