I(III)-Catalyzed Oxidative Cyclization-Migration Tandem Reactions of Unactivated Anilines.

An I(III)-catalyzed oxidative cyclization-migration tandem reaction using Selectfluor as the oxidant was developed that converts unactivated anilines into 3H-indoles is reported herein. The reaction requires as little as 1 mol % of the iodocatalyst and is mild, tolerating pyridine and thiophene functional groups, and the dependence of the diastereoselectivity of the process on the identity of the iodoarene or iodoalkane precatalyst suggests that the catalyst is present for the stereochemical determining C-N bond forming step.