Pericyclic rearrangements of N-heterocyclic carbenes of indazole to substituted 9-aminoacridines

On deprotonation, 1-arylindazolium salts form 1-arylindazol-3-ylidenes which rearrange spontaneously via ring cleavage, ring closure and subsequent proton transfer to substituted 9-aminoacridines. By contrast, the N-heterocyclic carbene of 2-phenylindazolium cannot rearrange similarly and was trapped by sulfur.