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In this communication, we report an asymmetric Friedel-Crafts reaction of indoles with imines catalyzed by a bifunctional cinchona alkaloid catalyst. This is the first efficient organocatalytic asymmetric Friedel-Crafts reaction of indoles with imines. This reaction is operationally simple and, unprecedentedly, affords high enantioselectivity for a wide range of indoles and both aryl and alkyl imines. This establishes a direct, convergent, and versatile approach to optically active 3-indolyl methanamines, a structural motif embedded in numerous indole alkaloids and synthetic indole derivatives.
Wang et al. (Thu,) studied this question.