Synthesis and unexpectedly facile dimerisation of 1-methoxycarbonylpyrrolizin-3-one
Abstract
Flash vacuum pyrolysis of the diethyl esters 2 gives 2-ethynylpyrrole via the anhydride 7; the corresponding dimethyl esters 3 give, under similar conditions, the pyrrolizinone 5, which is remarkably unstable and spontaneously dimerises to give the [2 + 2] cycloadducts 8 and 9 whose structures are proved by X-ray crystallography.