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RESEARCH PRODUCT

Electrochemical oxidation of 2,4,5-triaryl-substituted pyrroles.II. Oxidative dimerization of 4,5-diphenyl-2-mesitylylpyrrole

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2,4,5-Triaryl-substituted pyrroles lead, upon chemical or electrochemical oxidation, to an intermediate β-β'-dimer, which, in the course of the reaction, undergoes further oxidation to a tetracyclic derivative. To improve the selectivity towards the uncyclized dimer the oxidation of a triarylpyrrole in which the ortho positions of the phenyl group in position 2 are hindered by the presence of methyl groups was attempted. The cyclization was hindered, but an α-β'-dimer was obtained as the major product. An unexspected isomeric α-β'-dimer, in which the mesitylyl group is shifted into the β position of the pyrrole ring which undergoes the oxidation, was obtained in minor amounts. Electroanalytical data indicate that the process goes through the formation of a monomeric radical cation, followed by a slow chemical reaction.