1-Benzyl-5-[4-(trifluoromethoxy)phenyl]-1H-indole was prepared by coupling of 1-benzyl-5-bromo-1H-indole (5.2 g, 18 mmol) and 4-trifluoromethoxyphenylboronic acid (4.7 g, 23 mmol), using [1,1′-bis(diphenylphosphino)ferrocene]dichloropalladium (II) complex with dichloromethane (1:1) (0.88 g, 1.1 mmol), and potassium carbonate (3.8 g, 27 mmol) in dioxane (135 mL) and water (13.5 mL) according to the procedure described in Step 1 of Example 11. Purification by flash chromatography (Biotage apparatus) using hexane as an eluant yielded the title compound as a light yellow solid (2.8 g, 42%), mp: 62-63° C. 1HNMR (300 MHz, DMSO-d6): δ 7.85 (s, 1H), 7.75 (d, 2H, J=7.7 Hz), 7.5-7.6 (m, 2H), 7.4 (d, 3H, J=7.7 Hz), 7.2-7.35 (m, 5H), 6.6 (d, 1H, J=3.9 Hz), and 5.45 ppm (s, 2H).
