Bis(3-indolyl)methanes (BIM) are highly valuable and appear in the core structure of many natural products and pharmacologically active compounds (anticancer, anti-inflammatory, antiobesity, antimetastatic, antimicrobial, etc.). Herein, we have disclosed an air stable and highly efficient CuFe2O4 heterogeneous catalyst for alkylation of indoles with alcohols to give bis(3-indolyl)methanes in very good yields. The CuFe2O4 catalyst has been found to be magnetically recycled at least five times without losing significant catalytic activity.
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