One-pot homolytic aromatic substitutions/HWE olefinations under microwave conditions for the formation of a small oxindole library

An efficient one-pot sequence comprising a homolytic aromatic substitution followed by an ionic Horner-Wadsworth-Emmons olefination for the preparation of a small library of alpha,beta-unsaturated oxindoles is presented. Microwave-induced heating is used to conduct these reactions. The homolytic aromatic substitution is mediated by the persistent radical effect.