Bromination of 1-(4-nitrophenyl)-2-formylpyrrole

Depending on the amount of bromine, the bromination of 1-(4-nitrophenyl)-2-formylpyrrole with bromine in chloroform without a catalyst gives 5-bromo and 4,5-dibromo derivatives. 4-Bromo-1-(4-nitrophenyl)-2-formylpyrrole is formed in the presence of excess AlC1₃, while a mixture of 3,4- and 4,5-dibromo derivatives with preponderance of the latter is formed with excess bromine. The results are compared with the literature data on the bromination of 2-formylpyrrole, 2-formylfuran, and 2-formylthiophene and are interpreted with allowance for the electronacceptor effect of the p-nitrophenyl substituent attached to the nitrogen atom of the pyrrole ring.Translated from Khimiya Geterotsiklicheskikh Soedinenii, No. 5, pp. 662–665, May, 1982.