Tandem Catalytic Indolization/Enantioconvergent Substitution of Alcohols by Borrowing Hydrogen to Access Tricyclic Indoles

Abstract An efficient tandem catalysis method is achieved for the direct conversion of alcohol‐containing alkynyl anilines to valuable chiral 2,3‐fused tricyclic indoles. This method relies on a tandem indolization followed by enantioconvergent substitution of alcohols via borrowing hydrogen to construct two rings in one step, enabled by relay and cooperative catalysis of a chiral iridium complex with a chiral phosphoric acid. Highly diastereoselective transformations of the tricyclic indole products also provide efficient access to a diverse array of complex polycyclic indoline compounds.