7-Hydroxyindole (300 mg) was dissolved in dimethylformamide (2.0 ml). Potassium carbonate (622.6 mg) and benzyl bromide (295 μl) were added to the solution at room temperature, and the mixture was stirred overnight at room temperature. The reaction mixture was extracted with distilled water and ethyl acetate. The organic layer was washed twice with distilled water, dried over anhydrous magnesium sulfate, and filtered. The filtrate was concentrated under reduced pressure, and the residue was purified by silica gel column chromatography (hexane:ethyl acetate = 10:1) to give 7-benzyloxyindole (384 mg).
