Construction of spiro[indoline]oxindoles through one-pot thermal-induced [3+2] cycloaddition/silica gel-promoted fragmentation sequence between isatin ketonitrones and electron-deficient alkynes

One-pot thermal-induced [3+2] cycloaddition/silica gel-promoted fragmentation sequence between isatin ketonitrones and electron-deficient alkynes affords spiro[indoline]oxindoles in moderate to excellent yields along with good diastereoselectivities. The detailed mechanism of silica gel-promoted fragmentation has been clarified by experiment and DFT calculations.