# Reductive rearrangement of substituted quinolines to 2,3-disubstituted indoles enabled by water activation

## TL;DR

A new method converts quinolines into indoles using water activation and light-driven catalysis, enabling efficient synthesis of bioactive molecules.

## Contribution

A selective reductive rearrangement of quinolines to indoles via water activation and phosphine radical cations is introduced.

## Key findings

- Quinolines are converted into 2,3-disubstituted indoles through reductive rearrangement.
- The transformation is enabled by photoredox catalysis and phosphine-mediated water activation.
- The method is robust and applicable to a wide range of quinoline substrates.

## Abstract

Herein, we report a selective reductive rearrangement of substituted quinolines into indoles—a privileged structural motif widely found in natural products and bioactive molecules. This quinoline skeletal editing is accomplished through water activation mediated by photocatalytically generated phosphine radical cations. The developed protocol provides a robust and broadly applicable approach for synthesizing diverse indole derivatives from readily available quinoline substrates.

Reductive rearrangement of substituted quinolines to 2,3-disubstituted indoles enabled by photoredox catalyzed phosphine mediated water activation is reported.