Synthesis of 1-vinylpyrrole-2-carbonitriles

A new highly synthetically potent series of bifunctional pyrroles, 1-vinylpyrrole-2-carbonitriles, were synthesized from readily available 1-vinylpyrrole-2-carbaldehyde oximes by two methods: (1) reaction with acetylene (KOH/DMSO, 70 °C, 10 min, yields 58-67%) and (2) reaction with acetic anhydride (90-100 °C, 5 h, yields 83-93%). Starting from 2-phenyl-1-vinylpyrrole, the one-pot synthesis of the corresponding 1-vinyl-2-carbonitrile was accomplished directly by successive treatment with a DMF/(COCl)2 complex, NH2OH·HCl/NaOAc, and acetic anhydride (yield 58%).