Ruthenium-catalyzed 1,3-indolyl migration within α,α-disubstituted allylic alcohols†

The functional group migration strategy could facilitate the construction of complex structures from relatively simple starting materials. In contrast to the well-developed transition-metal catalyzed intramolecular 1,3-hydride migration, 1,3-carbon migration in allylic alcohols is marginally less reported. Herein, we report a protocol for Ru-catalyzed 1,3-indolyl migration under mild conditions. In this study, we disclosed that indoles have better migration ability than phenyl groups. Overall, this catalytic system enabled the simultaneous selective C(sp³)–C(sp²) bond cleavage and reconstruction, which allow for an immediate synthesis of β-indolyl ketones with a broad substrate scope and reasonable yields.