Silver-Catalyzed Regioselective Synthesis of Highly Substituted 2-Trifluoromethyl Pyrroles

Org Lett. 2021 Aug 20;23(16):6352-6356. doi: 10.1021/acs.orglett.1c02136. Epub 2021 Aug 2.

Abstract

An efficient and regioselective synthesis of highly substituted 2-trifluoromethyl pyrrole derivatives via silver-catalyzed cyclization of vinyl azides with ethyl 4,4,4-trifluoro-3-oxobutanoate is reported. Various α-(heteo)aryl, alkyl, β-aryl, as well as α,β-disubstituted vinyl azides, participate in this transformation. The reaction mechanism likely involves the addition of in situ generated 2H-azirine to the diketone species, followed by intramolecular addition, N-C1 cleavage, and elimination.