Novel synthesis of fused indoles and 2-substituted indoles by the palladium-catalyzed cyclization of N-cycloalkenyl-o-haloanilines

A new palladium-catalyzed cyclization of N-alkenyl-o-haloanilines with selective isomerization of a double bond followed by formal 5-endo-trig cyclization was developed. A variety of fused and 2-substituted indoles were synthesized from enaminoesters prepared by condensation of β-ketoesters and o-iodoaniline.