A new practical synthesis of triaryl and trisindolylmethanes under solvent-free reaction conditions

An efficient and practical synthesis of triaryl and trisindolylmethanes is reported via the bisarylation of aryl aldehydes with activated arenes. The new method features mild solvent-free reaction conditions, in most cases nearly stoichiometric reagent ratios, catalytic amount of the readily available, easily-handled, recoverable and reusable Brønsted acid catalyst o-benzenedisulfonimide.