Functionalized 4-carboxy- and 4-keto-2,3-dihydropyrroles via Ni(II)-catalyzed nucleophilic amine ring-opening cyclizations of cyclopropanes.

A general synthetic approach to vinylogous 4-carboxy- and 4-keto-2,3-dihydropyrroles is reported using Ni(ClO4)2·6H2O as a Lewis acid catalyst for nucleophilic amine ring-opening cyclizations of donor-acceptor (D-A) cyclopropanes. This methodology provided good to excellent yields of functionalized 2,3-dihydropyrroles under milder reaction conditions than previously reported and is amenable to a variety of D-A cyclopropanes and primary amines.