Selective Organocatalytic Synthesis of 3‐Methylindoles and Diindolylmethanes through Reductive Methylation of Indoles with CO<sub>2</sub>
The direct reductive methylation of indoles with CO<sub>2</sub> remains a formidable challenge due to competing reduction pathways and precise selectivity control. Herein, cooperative catalytic systems comprising 2-aminopyridine-BH<sub>3</sub> and DIC-BH<sub>3</sub> are disclosed, which enable unprecedented chemoselective C3-methylation of indoles under mild conditions (1 atm CO<sub>2</sub>). This strategy delivers two distinct product classes through controlled reduction: 3-methylindoles (up to 81% yield) and diindolylmethanes (up to 82% yield) with excellent functional group tolerance. This protocol offers novel synthetic routes for the synthesis of indole-based bioactive molecules.
Authors
- Rongpei Wu
- Ke Gao (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1296-9471)
- He Zhang (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0006-8609-2656)
Institutions
- Central China Normal University (CN)
Publication Details
- Journal
- ChemSusChem
- Published
- 2025-04-15
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1002/cssc.202500594
- Citations
- 1
- Primary Topic
- Asymmetric Hydrogenation and Catalysis
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 0.54
Funders
- National Natural Science Foundation of China
- Central China Normal University
- Project 211
- Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities