Ruthenium Pincer Complex Catalyzed Selective Synthesis of C-3 Alkylated Indoles and Bisindolylmethanes Directly from Indoles and Alcohols

Herein, we presented Ru-SNS complex that serves as a useful catalyst for C-3 alkylation of 1H-indoles with various aliphatic primary and secondary alcohols including cyclic alcohols as well as benzylic alcohols. The selective synthesis of bisindolylmethane derivatives is also achieved from the same set of indole and alcohol just by altering the reaction parameters. Furthermore, the sustainable synthesis of C-3 alkylated indoles directly from 2-(2-nitrophenyl)ethan-1-ol and alcohols catalysed by a Ru-complex via "borrowing hydrogen" strategy is reported. This protocol provides an atom-economical sustainable route to access structurally important compounds like arundine, vibrindole A and tryptamine based derivatives.