Iridium/Zinc-Co-Catalyzed Ring-Opening Reactions of Oxabicyclic Alkenes with Indole Nucleophiles: A Combined Experimental and Theoretical Study

Abstract

An experimental and theoretical investigation on the iridium/zinc-co-catalyzed ring-opening reactions of oxabicyclic alkenes with indole nucleophiles is reported. The reaction affords trans-3-indolyl-1,2-dihydronaphthalen-1-ol products in good yield with no N-alkylated products observed. The C–C bond-forming reaction does not require prior functionalization and is entirely atom-economic. The mechanism and origins of selectivity in the iridium-catalyzed ring-opening reaction have been examined at the M06-D3/Def2TZVPP level of theory. Orbital analysis and natural population analysis charges demonstrate that the Cα site of the π-allyliridium intermediate is the most electrophilic site of attack. Distortion/interaction analysis reveals that the chemoselectivity likely originates from an earlier-stage transition state between Cα and C3, which requires less distortion energy compared to Cα–N1 during the rate-determining intermolecular nucleophilic attack. Moreover, conceptual density functional theory was used to conceptualize the preferential reactive sites of the nucleophiles probed. The C–C bond-forming step is speculated to proceed through a Friedel–Crafts-type reaction.