Rhodium/selenium dual catalysis for accessing 2-aminopyrroles from N-sulfonyl-1,2,3-triazoles

Herein, we report a novel rhodium/selenium dual catalytic process for the synthesis of 2-aminopyrroles from N-sulfonyl-1,2,3-triazoles. The proposed cooperative catalytic mechanism involves Rh(II)-catalyzed formation of Rh-azavinyl carbene from triazole, followed by selenium-catalyzed generation of ylide, which subsequently undergoes annulation with another Rh-azavinyl carbene. The simple and mild dual catalytic strategy accommodates a variety of electron-withdrawing and electron-donating functional groups, affording various 2-aminopyrrole derivatives in moderate to good yields.