Palladium-Catalyzed C–H Arylation of Indoles at the C7 Position

In the past decade, direct C-H arylation of indoles has been developed with high selectivity at the C2 and C3 positions via transition-metal-catalyzed cross-coupling reactions. Here we show that C-H activation can be directed to the C7 position with high selectivity in Pd-catalyzed coupling of indoles with arylboronic acids. The key to this high regioselectivity is the appropriate choice of a phosphinoyl directing group and a pyridine-type ligand in the presence of Pd(OAc)2 catalyst. This previously elusive transformation should provide insight for the design of other cross-couplings as well.