Copper-catalyzed synthesis of substituted furans and pyrroles by heterocyclodehydration and tandem heterocyclodehydration-hydration of 3-yne-1,2-diols and 1-amino-3-yn-2-ol derivatives.

CuCl2-catalyzed heterocyclodehydration of readily available 3-yne-1,2-diols and 1-amino-3-yn-2-ol derivatives afforded substituted furans and pyrroles, respectively, in good to high yields (53-99%) under mild conditions (MeOH as the solvent, 80-100 °C, 1-24 h). In the case of 2,2-dialkynyl-1,2-diols, bearing an additional alkynyl substituent at C-2, a cascade process, corresponding to copper-catalyzed heterocyclodehydration followed by acid-catalyzed hydration of the triple bond, was realized when the reaction was carried out in the presence of both CuCl2 and TsOH, leading to 3-acylfurans in one step and high yields (75-84%). Under the same conditions, N-Boc-2-alkynyl-1-amino-3-yn-2-ols were converted into the corresponding N-unsubstituted 3-acylpyrroles in low to fair yields (19-59%). However, working in the presence of added water and a large excess of CO2 (40 atm), in addition to CuCl2 and TsOH, caused a significant improvement of the yields of 3-acylpyrroles (68-87%), thus making the method of general synthetic applicability.