Synthesis of N-azolylindoles by copper-catalyzed C-H/N-H coupling-annulation sequence of o-alkynylanilines.

A wide range of o-alkynylanilines undergo a copper-catalyzed direct C-H/N-H coupling with azoles followed by benzannulation to form the corresponding N-azolylindoles in good yields. The domino reaction proceeds effectively with molecular oxygen as the sole oxidant and provides a new dehydrogenative access to the titled compounds of interest in pharmaceutical and material sciences.