Alkylation of indoles by means of the Michael addition has been the subject of a number of investigation. It is well established that regioselectivity in the additions of indoles to electron-deficient alkenes is strongly controlled by the reaction medium. In a continuation of the work on developing greener and cleaner technologies, the cerium(III) chloride heptahydrate and sodium iodide combination supported on silica gel catalyzes the alkylation of various indoles with alpha,beta-unsaturated ketones giving 3-(3-oxoalkyl)indole derivatives in good yields. The substitution on the indole nucleus occurred exclusively at the 3-position, and N-alkylation products have not been observed.

The combination of cerium(III) chloride heptahydrate and sodium iodide supported on silica gel is known to promote Michael-type additions. Continuing our work on solvent-free conditions, the CeCl3.7H2O-NaI-SiO2 system catalyzes the addition of a variety of indoles and nitroalkenes, giving 2-indolyl-1-nitroalkane derivatives in good yields. Development of this method has resulted in a new protocol for the synthesis of 4-substituted beta-carbolines.

2-Alkylidenecycloalkanones are powerful synthons used as the key intermediates in many important syntheses. Because of their potential, a general method of preparation from readily available starting materials, under very mild conditions, was considered to be worthwhile. Cerium(III) chloride heptahydrate in combination with sodium iodide in refluxing acetonitrile promotes a regio- and stereoselective beta-elimination reaction to (E)-2-alkylidenecycloalkanones in 2-(1-hydroxyalkyl)cycloalkanones. The synthetic value of the present procedure is demonstrated by the synthesis of monoterpene (S)-(-)-pulegone (8) in its optically active form.