The combination of photoredox and enzymatic catalysis for the direct asymmetric one‐pot synthesis of 2,2‐disubstituted indol‐3‐ones from 2‐arylindoles through concurrent oxidization and alkylation reactions is described. 2‐Arylindoles can be photocatalytically oxidized to 2‐arylindol‐3‐one with subsequent enantioselective alkylation with ketones catalyzed by wheat germ lipase (WGL). The chiral quaternary carbon center at C2 of the indoles was directly constructed. This mode of concurrent photobiocatalysis provides a mild and powerful strategy for one‐pot enantioselective synthesis of complex compounds. The experiments proved that other lipases containing structurally analogous catalytic triad in the active site also can catalyze the reaction in the same way. This reaction is the first example of combining the non‐natural catalytic activity of hydrolases with visible‐light catalysis for enantioselective organic synthesis and it does not require any cofactors.

An asymmetric electrosynthesis is developed by combining anodic oxidation and proline-catalysis to realize enantioselective synthesis of C2-quaternary indolin-3-ones from 2-arylindoles.

A mild and effective method for asymmetric synthesis of C2-quaternary indolin-3-ones directly from 2-arylindoles by combining visible light photocatalysis and organocatalysis is described. In this reaction, 2-substituted indoles undergo photocatalyzed oxidative dearomatization, followed by an organocatalyzed asymmetric Mannich reaction with ketones or aldehydes. Products with opposite configurations are easily obtained in satisfactory yields with excellent enantio-and diastereoselectivity by employing readily available L-and D-proline as chiral organocatalysts.

A visible-light driven reaction for the synthesis of 3-arylmethyl indole derivatives using tertiary amines and indoles was first reported. Corresponding products were obtained with yields of up to 70%, and various functional groups on the indoles were well tolerated when Rose Bengal was used as a photosensitizer and air was used as a green oxidant under mild reaction conditions.