Synthesis of 2,2,2-trichloro-1-(N-hydrocarbonpyrryl-2)-ethanol

In a process of preparing 2,2,2-trichloro-1-(N-hydrocarbylpyrryl-2)-ethanol by mixing and reacting essentially equimolar quantities of chloral and N-hydrocarbylpyrrole in a liquid reaction system containing a protonic acid added in the form of an organic acid, improvements have been made. The improvement involves (i) performing the reaction in a methylene chloride reaction medium containing protonic acid added in the form of a carboxylic acid whose acidic dissociation constant is not substantially greater than that of acetic acid, and (ii) proportioning the relative amounts of the chloral, N-hydrocarbylpyrrole and methylene chloride reaction medium so as to result in the formation of a solution of 2,2,2-trichloro-1-(N-hydrocarbylpyrryl-2)-ethanol in the reaction medium having a concentration in the range of about 1 to about 8 molar.