Niobium‐Catalyzed Activation of Aryl Trifluoromethyl Groups and Functionalization of CH Bonds: An Efficient and Convergent Approach to the Synthesis of N‐Heterocycles

Abstract

Activate that bond! The functionalization of the CF3 groups is an ongoing synthetic challenge owing to the inert nature of the CF bond. The aryl trifluoromethyl group can be reduced by a low-valent niobium catalyst to produce a carbenoid that inserts into a C(sp3)H bond to produce complex, functionalized N-fused indoles (see scheme).