Magnetically recoverable Cu(0)/Fe3O4 catalyzed highly regioselective synthesis of 2,3,4-trisubstituted pyrroles from unactivated terminal alkynes and isocyanides.

An efficient, one pot tandem nano Cu(0)/Fe3O4 catalyzed highly regioselective synthesis of 3-substituted pyrrole-2,4 dicarboxylates from unactivated terminal alkynes and isocyanides has been developed. This strategy exhibits an unprecedented double addition of isocyanides on unactivated terminal alkynes to obtain trisubstituted pyrroles in high yields. Furthermore, the catalyst was magnetically recovered and reused five times without any appreciable loss of activity.