A facile synthesis of 5-alkoxypyrrol-2(5H)-ones using a modified aza-Achmatowicz oxidation

An efficient approach to 2,4-disubstituted pyrroles has been uncovered and is based on an oxidative rearrangement of a furanyl carbamate followed by sequential reaction of the resulting 5-methoxypyrrol-2(5H)-one with various alkyl lithiates. The final step of the procedure involves heating the ring opened 1-methoxy-5-oxopentylcarbamate with a primary amine. The overall process can be carried out under mild conditions and complements existing methods to prepare 2,4-disubstituted pyrroles.