Pyrroles acid-catalyzed polymerization

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 Acid-Catalyzed Polymerization of Pyrroles and Indoles G. F. Smith... 

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. 

The polymeric pyrrolic autoxidation products probably result from the oxidized monomeric systems, which are analogous in structure to those isolated from photooxidation and peroxide oxidation reactions. Thus, for example, analysis of the products of the autoxidation of 1-methylpyrrole (Scheme 47) would suggest that 1 -methyl-A3-pyrrolin-2-one (153) is initially formed from a radical reaction of the pyrrole with triplet oxygen. This reaction sequence should be compared with that proposed for the oxidation of pyrroles with hydrogen peroxide (Scheme 50), which yields (181), (182) and (183) as the major isolable products. The acid-catalyzed reaction of a pyrrole with its oxidation product e.g. 153) also results in the formation of polymeric material and the formation of pyrrole black is probably a combination of oxidation and acid-catalyzed polymerization processes. 

The susceptibility of pyrroles to acid-catalyzed polymerization is a distinct disadvantage in the catalytic hydrogenation of pyrroles in acidic media and, similarly, the oligomerization of indoles by acids can also be a problem under such hydrogenation conditions. 

Vinylpyrroles and vinylindoles are extremely sensitive to acid-catalyzed dimerization and polymerization and it is significant that much of the early research was conducted on systems which were produced in situ. Even by this approach, the dimerization of, for example, 2-(3-indolyl)propene and l-(3-indolyl)-l-phenylethylene was difficult to prevent (see the formation of 110 and 120, Section 3.05.1.2.8). Similarly, although it is possible to isolate ethyl 2-(2- and 3-indolyl)propenoates, they appear to be extremely unstable at room temperature even in the absence of acid (81UP30500) to give [ 4 + 2] cycloadducts of the type (348) (cf. 77JCS(P1)1204>. For many years simple vinylpyrroles also eluded isolation, on account of their facile acid-catalyzed polymerization. Application of the Wittig reaction, however, permits the synthesis of vinyl-pyrroles and -indoles under relatively mild and neutral conditions (see Section 3.05.2.5). In contrast, heteroarylvinyl ketones, esters, nitriles and nitro compounds, obtained by condensation of the appropriate activated methylene compound with the heteroaryl aldehydes (see Section 3.05.2.5), are thermally stable and... 

Acetylenecarboxylic esters, reactions with nitrogen-containing heterocycles, 23, 263 Acetylenic derivatives of pyrazoles, synthesis and properties of, 82, 1 Acetylenic esters, synthesis of heterocycles through nucleophilic additions to, 19,297 Acid-catalyzed polymerization of pyrroles and indoles, 2, 287... 

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