Catalytic Asymmetric Synthesis of Axially Chiral 3,3'-Bisindoles by Direct Coupling of Indole Rings

Comprehensive Summary A new strategy for the enantioselective synthesis of axially chiral 3,3'-bisindoles was devised by the direct coupling of two indole rings.This strategy makes use of the C3-umpolung reactivity of 2-indolylmethanols,which enables the catalytic asymmetric addition reaction of 2-indolylmethanols with rationally designed 2-substituted indoles,thus constructing axially chiral 3,3'-bisindole scaffolds in overall excellent yields(up to 98%)with high enantioselectivities(up to 96:4 er).This approach not only has overcome the challenges in constructing axially chiral five-five-membered heterobiaryls,but also represents a new application of the C3-umpolung reactivity of 2-indolylmethanols in asymmetric catalysis.More importantly,this class of axially chiral 3,3'-bisindoles can undergo a variety of post-functionalizations to give axially chiral 3,3'-bisindole-based organocatalysts,which have found their preliminary applications in asymmetric catalysis.