Cu-Catalyzed Ullmann-Type Double C-N Coupling Approach to 5-Aryl-5 H -indolizino[3,2- b ]indoles.

A modular approach to a polyfunctionalized 5 H -indolizino[3,2- b ]indole, an indolizine-indole fused system, was achieved from readily available pyridine-2-acetonitrile, 2-bromobenzaldehyde, and TMSCN via the strategic combination of a one-pot three-component assembly and Cu-catalyzed Ullmann-type double C-N coupling reactions through which five new bonds (two C-C and three C-N) were formed in two steps.