. Palladium-catalyzed direct desulfitative C2 arylations of 3-halo-: N -protected indoles using (hetero)arenesulfonyl chlorides. Organic and Biomolecular Chemistry, Royal Society of Chemistry, 2016, 14 (21) The direct arylation of N-protected 3-haloindole derivatives with benzenesulfonyl chlorides as coupling partners using 5 mol% of bis(acetonitrile)dichloropalladium(II) catalyst and lithium carbonate as base in 1,4-dioxane was investigated. We demonstrated that both iodo and chloro substituents at indolyl C3 position act as temporary blocking groups to allow the formation of 2-arylindoles through a direct desulfitative arylation, followed by in-situ dehalogenation. While, from 3-bromoindole derivatives, 2-aryl-3-bromoindoles were obtained without debromination, and could be converted into 2,3-diarylindoles through a second palladium coupling. which are both of interest as potential intermediates in the synthesis of bioactive molecules.