Palladium-catalyzed domino C,N-coupling/carbonylation/Suzuki coupling reaction: an efficient synthesis of 2-aroyl-/heteroaroylindoles.

A convenient one-pot synthesis of 2-aroylindoles using a domino palladium-catalyzed C,N-coupling/carbonylation/C,C-coupling sequence is described. The reaction involved easily prepared 2-gem-dibromovinylanilines and boronic acids under carbon monoxide. Optimized reaction conditions allowed the construction of a wide variety of highly functionalized 2-aroyl-/heteroaroylindoles in satisfactory yields.