Nickel-catalyzed formal [3 + 2]-cycloaddition of 2H-azirines with 1,3-dicarbonyl compounds for the synthesis of pyrroles.

• Ni-catalyzed [3 + 2]-cycloaddition of 2 H -azirines with 1,3-dicarbonyl compounds. • Applicable to gram-scale synthesis of tetrasubstituted pyrroles. • The reaction proceeded smoothly under mild conditions. An efficient nickel-catalyzed formal [3 + 2]-cycloaddition of 2 H -azirines with 1,3-dicarbonyl compounds for the synthesis of tetrasubstituted pyrroles has been developed. This transformation involves cleavage of the C N double bond and the construction of new C C and C N bonds. The reaction employs readily available starting materials, tolerates a wide range of functional groups, and affords tetrasubstituted pyrroles in good to high yields under mild reaction conditions. A gram-scale reaction was performed to demonstrate the scale-up applicability of this synthetic method. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]