Organocatalytic Enantioselective Aza-Friedel-Crafts Reaction of Cyclic Ketimines with Pyrroles using Imidazolinephosphoric Acid Catalysts

Organocatalytic enantioselective aza-Friedel-Crafts reactions of cyclic ketimines with pyrroles or indoles were catalyzed by imidazoline/phosphoric acid catalysts. The reaction was applied to various 3H-indol-3-ones to afford products in excellent yields and enantioselectivities. The chiral catalysts can be recovered by a single separation step using column chromatography and are reusable without further purification. Based on the experimental investigations, a possible transition state has been proposed to explain the origin of the asymmetric induction.