Synthesis of 1-Alkyl-3-(2-oxo-2-aryl/alkyl-ethyl)indolin-2-ones through Gold/Brønsted Acid Relay Actions: Observation of Selective C=C Bond Cleavage of Enaminones

A novel gold(I)/Brønsted acid sequential catalyzed/promoted procedure to synthesize 1-alkyl-3-(2-oxo-2-aryl/alkyl-ethyl)indolin-2-ones under mild reaction conditions is developed. This methodology is realized by relay actions of gold and a Brønsted acid in a one-pot multistep manner. The gold(I)-catalyzed chemoselective C(sp2)-H functionalization of enaminones and Brønsted acid promoted cleavage of the C=C bond are integrated effectively. Based on the results of control experiments and ESI-MS analysis, a possible reaction mechanism is proposed.