Preparation and Reactions of Heterocyclic Compounds II

Commercial preparation of furan proceeds by way of the aldehyde, furfural, which in turn is generated from pentose containing raw materials like corncobs, as shown in the uppermost equation below. Similar preparations of pyrrole and thiophene are depicted in the second row equations. Equation 1 in the third row illustrates a general preparation of substituted furans, pyrroles and thiophenes from 1,4-dicarbonyl compounds, known as the Paal-Knorr synthesis. Many other procedures leading to substituted heterocycles of this kind have been devised. Two of these are shown in reactions 2 and 3. Furan is reduced to tetrahydrofuran by palladium-catalyzed hydrogenation. This cyclic ether is not only a valuable solvent, but it is readily converted to 1,4-dihalobutanes or 4-haloalkylsulfonates, which may be used to prepare pyrrolidine and thiolane. Dipolar cycloaddition reactions often lead to more complex five-membered heterocycles.