Unexpected behavior of the reaction between acyl thioformanilides and acetonitrile derivatives-a useful entry to new penta-substituted dipyrrole disulfides

A convenient and unexpected synthesis of penta-substituted dipyrrole disulfides starting from readily available acyl thioformanilides and acetonitrile derivatives has been developed. The overall process leads to the creation of two C-C bonds, two C-N bonds, and one S-S bond with the concomitant formation of two pyrrole rings and disulfide from the fact that only two reagents need to be mixed together, and it complements the existing pyrrole disulfides chemistry.