Indoles and azaindoles are among the most important heterocycles because of their prevalence in nature and their broad utility in pharmaceutical industry. Reported herein is an unprecedented noble-metal- and oxidant-free electrochemical method for the coupling of (hetero)arylamines with tethered alkynes to synthesize highly functionalized indoles, as well as the more challenging azaindoles.

We have developed a unified strategy for preparing a variety of imidazo-fused N-heteroaromatic compounds through regiospecific electrochemical (3+2) annulation reaction of heteroarylamines with tethered internal alkynes. The electrosynthesis employs a novel tetraarylhydrazine as the catalyst, has a broad substrate scope, and obviates the need for transition-metal catalysts and oxidizing reagents.

Enantiopure vicinal amino alcohols and derivatives are essential structural motifs in natural products and pharmaceutically active molecules, and serve as main chiral sources in asymmetric synthesis. Currently known asymmetric catalytic protocols for this class of compounds are still rare and often suffer from limited scope of substrates, relatively low regio-or stereoselectivities, thus prompting the development of more effective methodologies. Herein we report a dual catalytic strategy for the convergent enantioselective synthesis of vicinal amino alcohols. The method features a radical-type Zimmerman-Traxler transition state formed from a rare earth metal with a nitrone and an aromatic ketyl radical in the presence of chiral N,N′-dioxide ligands. In addition to high level of enantio-and diastereoselectivities, our synthetic protocol affords advantages of simple operation, mild conditions, high-yielding, and a broad scope of substrates. Furthermore, this protocol has been successfully applied to the concise synthesis of pharmaceutically valuable compounds (e.g., ephedrine and selegiline).

We have developed au nified strategy for preparing av ariety of imidazo-fused N-heteroaromatic compounds through regiospecific electrochemical (3+ +2) annulation reaction of heteroarylamines with tethered internal alkynes.T he electrosynthesis employs an ovel tetraarylhydrazine as the catalyst, has abroad substrate scope,and obviates the need for transition-metal catalysts and oxidizing reagents.