Nickel-catalyzed cascade carbonylative synthesis of N-benzoyl indoles from 2-nitroalkynes and aryl iodides

A nickel-catalyzed carbonylative cyclization of 2-nitroalkynes and aryl iodides has been developed for the expedite construction of N-benzoyl indole scaffolds. Using Co2(CO)8 as the CO source, this cascade reaction proceeded with high efficiency to give a variety of N-benzoyl indoles in moderate to high yields. Control experiments were performed as well to gain a better understanding of the reaction mechanism.