Scheme 1.
Proposed mechanism for the synthesis of dihydroindoles from triazole 1a and rationalization of dihydroindole regioselectivity from sigmatropic rearrangements. Energetically preferred pathway shown in blue. Transition state energies are calculated relative to endo-C and are given in parenthesis as ΔG/ΔH at 343 K. See the supporting information for details. RXN = reaction, RAR = rearrangement, Rot = rotation, TS = transition state.
