C-3 alkylation of oxindole with alcohols catalyzed by an indene-functionalized mesoporous iridium catalyst

A heterogeneous indene-based iridium catalyst with a highly ordered dimensional-hexagonal mesostructure was prepared through complexation of IrCI(3) with the indene-functionalized SBA-15 silica materials. During C-3 alkylation of oxindole with various alcohols, this heterogeneous catalyst exhibited highly catalytic activity (up to 93%). Such a catalyst could be recovered easily and used repetitively eight times without significantly affecting its catalytic activity. (C) 2010 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.