3-Alkynyl indoles were efficiently prepared through trapping of α-imine gold carbenes by alkynes, generated by gold-catalyzed tandem reactions of 2-alkynyl arylazides. The desired products were afforded up to 94% yield at 60 ℃ with 2 mol% JohnPhosAuCl as catalyst. A very simple and general synthetic method for the efficient synthesis of 3-alkynyl indoles was provided.
1H-Indol-3-yl acetates are very important indole derivatives, which can be found in many bioactive compounds and natural products. In this work, 1H-indol-3-yl acetates were efficiently prepared via α-imino gold carbenes generated by gold-catalyzed reactions of 2-alkynyl arylazides. A very simple and general method for the synthesis of 1H-indol-3-yl acetates was provided after examining the substrates scope.