An Efficient Approach for 3,3-Disubstituted Oxindoles Synthesis: Aryl Iodine Catalyzed Intramolecular C–N Bond Oxidative Cross-Coupling

Herein,
we report the first intramolecular C–N bond formation
of phenylpropanamide derivatives via organocatalytic oxidative reactions,
affording 3,3-disubstituted oxindole derivatives with up to 99% yield.
The high efficiency of this reaction is exemplified by the transition
metal-free mild conditions and the ability to perform the reaction
on a gram scale. Meanwhile, the DFT calculation of the catalytic oxidative
transformation pathway has also been studied.