Oxidative Trifluoromethylation of Indoles

Liu et al. have reported the Pd-catalyzed oxidative trifluoromethylation of indoles. This reaction proceeds at room temperature to introduce a CF₃ group on the pyrrole ring of indoles using TMSCF₃ as a trifluoromethylation reagent and Pd(OAc)₂ as a palladium catalyst. Addition of (+)-2,2'-methylenebis[(3aR,8aS)-3a,8a-dihydro-8H-indeno[1,2-d]oxazole] as a ligand proved to be most effective.