Abstract A CuSO4 catalyzed ynamide formation/[4 + 2] cycloaddition relay reaction was achieved in one-pot. Various 4,7-cis-dihydroindolines were produced in good to high yields. The one-pot operation in conjunction with the cheap and benign copper catalysis renders this reaction highly sustainable.
Iodoanilines bearing a diene side-chain at the 3-position were converted to tricyclic fused indole derivatives under palladium catalysis. This cascade reaction proceeds through an intramolecular Heck insertion of the diene, followed by an allylic amination reaction sequence. Experimental and computational studies indicated that eta(3) pi-allylpalladium complex-mediated substitution was operative for the latter cyclization.