Manganese(I)‐Catalyzed C−H (2‐Indolyl)methylation: Expedient Access to Diheteroarylmethanes.

Abstract: An unprecedented MnI‐catalyzed (2‐indolyl)methylation of heteroarenes is reported. This method makes use of an aromatizing cascade strategy to install a (2‐indolyl)methyl group into target molecules, thereby leading to the expedient synthesis of previously challenging and important unsymmetrical diheteroarylmethanes, in particular bis(2‐indolyl)methanes. The proposed cascade process comprises the reorganization of multiple bonds with controlled regioselectivity and high atom economy and can be performed on a gram‐scale. Furthermore, a metal‐free C−H propargylation is observed. The diverse application of this method is also demonstrated. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]