No abstract

C-3 substituted indolizines are important biological heterocycles and luminescent molecules. The development of new methods for direct arylation of indolizines is highly desired. Herein, the C3-acylation of electron-rich indolizines with α-keto acids through Cu-promoted decarboxylation was descried.Under this simple reaction conditions, a variety of indolizine derivatives were synthesized and characterized. The structure of product 3 a was confirmed in an X-ray crystal analysis. In addition, the mechanism was also proposed.