10.1021/om300284t
The research focuses on the regioselective palladation of indole derivatives, aiming to understand the factors influencing the selectivity of C2?Pd or C3?Pd bond formation. The experiments involved the palladation of N-phenylindole (1a) and N-methylindole (1b) under different reaction conditions to capture both C2?Pd and C3?Pd intermediates. Key reactants included [Pd(OAc)2] (2a) as the palladium source, sodium pivalate (PivONa) as a base for C3 palladation, and PivOH with NaCl for C2 palladation. The experiments were designed to investigate the effect of N-substituted protective groups and the acidity of the reaction medium on the regioselectivity. Analytical techniques used included X-ray crystallography for structural characterization of the synthesized tetranuclear indolyl palladacycles, which provided insights into the regioselective palladation mechanism and the influence of reaction conditions on the C2?Pd or C3?Pd bond selectivity.