Palladium-Catalyzed Fluoroalkylative C7–H Cyclization of Indoles to Lilolidines

Abstract

Herein, we report a cooperative palladium and fluoroalkyl radical catalysis strategy that enables the direct C7-H functionalization/annulation of unactivated olefin-tethered N-alkyl indoles with bromofluoroalkyl reagents. This method provides efficient access to biologically relevant Lilolidine-type fused skeletons. Utilizing readily available starting materials under mild conditions, this approach achieves high regioselectivity for the typically less reactive benzenoid C7 position, diverging from conventional C2-based cyclization paradigms. Mechanistic studies support a radical-mediated tandem cyclization pathway.2