Bifunctional Iron Complexes Catalyzed Alkylation of Indoles

Abstract Cyclopentadienone iron carbonyl complexes have been applied in alkylation of indoles with various benzylic alcohols, aliphatic alcohols (butanol, ethanol, methanol and 2‐methylpentanol) via the hydrogen autotransfer strategy in mild reaction conditions. Experimental works highlight the role of the bifunctional iron complexes and the base. These iron complexes demonstrated a broad applicability in mild conditions and extended the scope of substrates in iron catalyzed C−C bond formation. magnified image