The value of functional pyrrolidines in the fields of biology, pharmacology, catalysis,
and natural product synthesis stimulates an intensive interest in developing new synthetic
methods for this class of compounds, and direct functionalization of the simple pyrrolidine
represents an attractive and effective approach. Herein, a metal-free protocol for
direct N-arylation and α-functionalization of pyrrolidine via redox-neutral three-component
reactions is reported, in which p-quinol ethers or p-quinone monoacetals serve as the arylation components and the formal oxidants for
α-functionalization of pyrrolidine.
Key words
pyrrolidine - redox-neutral MCR -
N-arylation - phosphinylation - α-functionalization