Efficient synthesis of 3-benzyl-3-(indol-3-yl)-2-phenyl-2,3-dihydroisoindolinone derivatives via a simple and convenient MCR in aqueous micellar system

An environmentally benign and operationally simple methodology was developed for the synthesis of 3-benzyl-3-(indol-3-yl)-2-phenyl-2,3-dihydroisoindolinones via multicomponent one-pot reaction involving 2-iodo-N-phenylbenzamides, terminal alkyne, and substituted indoles in aqueous micellar medium. It involves copper-mediated domino Sonogashira-5-exo-dig-cyclization followed by regioselective nucleophilic addition of indoles, all in one-pot, using CuI as catalyst and 2,2′-(1E,1′E)-(1R,2R)-cyclohexane-1,2-diylbis(azan-1-yl-1-ylidene)bis(methan-1-yl-1-ylidene)diphenol as ligand under aerobic condition.