Unusual formation of novel highly substituted N-(3-indolyl)-imidazoles

Abstract

Treatment of 3-amidoindoles with phosphoryl chloride leads to a dimerization of the resulting iminochlorides to form tetrasubstituted imidazoles in moderate yield. One indole ring undergoes ring-opening to allow the formation of the imidazole ring. This strategically simple synthesis considerably expands the scope of delivering N-indolylimidazoles.