Oxidant-controlled regioselectivity in the oxidative arylation of N-acetylindoles

N-Acetylindoles can be oxidatively coupled with arenes such as benzene or pentafluorobenzene in dioxane. The use of Cu(OAc)(2) as the stoichiometric oxidant produces selective arylation at the 3-position of indole while AgOAc produces selective arylation at indole's 2-position. (C) 2008 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.