Rhodium-catalyzed direct C H amination of 2-arylindoles and 7-arylindoles with free amines

Synthetically meaningful 2-(2′-amino)phenylindoles or 7-(2′-amino)phenylindoles were accessed by rhodium-catalyzed NH-indole-directed CH amination of 2-aryl-1H-indoles or 7-aryl-1H-indoles with free amines. This method is compatible with a wide variety of functional groups, thus enabling expedient access to fused-polycyclic frameworks containing indole units.