Synthesis of Methanes Having Four Different Carbon Substituents Utilizing Indium‐Catalyzed Cleavage of Carbon–Pyrrolyl Bonds

A pyrrolyl group bound to an sp3 carbon atom in gem‐dipyrrolylalkanes was found to be successfully replaced by a certain range of carbon nucleophiles in the presence of an indium catalyst. The reaction can also be performed efficiently as a three‐component assembly of alkynes, pyrroles, and carbon nucleophiles in one batch. The strategy is highly useful to synthesize methanes having four different carbon substituents. (© Wiley‐VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, 69451 Weinheim, Germany, 2009) Methanes having four different carbon substituents, one of which is a β‐pyrrolyl group, have been successfully prepared by the reaction of β,β′‐dipyrrolylalkanes with carbon nucleophiles in the presence of anindium catalyst. The reaction can be performed also as a three‐component assembly of alkynes, pyrroles, and carbon nucleophiles in an easy manner.