Highly Enantioselective Friedel−Crafts Alkylations of Indoles with Simple Enones Catalyzed by Zirconium(IV)−BINOL Complexes

Abstract

Complexes of BINOL-based ligands with Zr(OtBu)4 catalyze the Friedel-Crafts alkylation reaction of indoles and pyrrole with nonchelating beta-substituted alpha,beta-enones at room temperature affording the expected products with good yields and ee above 95% in most of the studied examples.