Pyrrole review

PHOSPHORUS-CONTAINING DERIVATIVES OF INDOLE AND PYRROLE. (REVIEW)... 

Pyrrole is a colorless, slightly hygroscopic Hquid which, if fresh, emits an odor like that of chloroform. However, it darkens on exposure to air and eventually produces a dark brown resin. It can be preserved by excluding air from the storage container, preferably by displacement with ammonia to prevent acid-catalyzed polymerization. A review of the physical and theoretical aspects of pyrrole is found in Reference 4. Some physical properties of pyrrole are Hsted in Table 1. 

The fourth chapter of this volume comprises the second part of an ongoing series by Professor A. P. Sadimenko (Fort Hare University, South Africa) dealing with organometallic compounds of pyrrole, indole, carbazole, phospholes, siloles, and boroles. This follows the review in Volume 78 of Advances covering organometallic compounds of thiophene and furan. The enormous recent advances in this area are summarized and classified according to the nature of the heterocycle and of the metals. 

Pyrrole itself is very easily converted by acid into intractable and readily autoxidized polymers. In this case and in the case of the alkyl pyrroles, it is important to distinguish between anaerobic acid-catalyzed reactions and autoxidative polymerizations the decomposition of pyrrole and its alkyl derivatives on standing in air belongs to the latter type, this review is concerned only with the former. 

Reviews dealing with a specific reaction or property from the heterocyclic point of view have been rarer—tautomerism (continued from Volume 1), free radical substitution, metal catalysts and pyri-dines, acid-catalyzed polymerization of pyrroles, and diazomethane reactions have been covered in this volume. 

Similarly, pyrrole, indole, and tetrahydrocarbazole [285] as well as diarylamines give the corresponding N-vinyl compounds [286]. Several improvements of yields and reaction rates were observed by conducting the reactions in the presence of additives [287, 288]. The vinylation of imidazole and benzimidazole was reported to be catalyzed by KOH in the presence of zinc or cadmium salts [289]. The above reactions were reviewed in 1965 [290]. 

Electrophilic substitution in furan, thiophene, selenophene and pyrrole has, up to 1970, been comprehensively reviewed by Marino.66 Italian workers have determined the relative reactivities of selenophene and thiophene as well67 relative rates are given in Table I. Including furan, the order of reactivity is furan > selenophene > thiophene. 

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