Abstract: | The electrochemical oxidation of 2,5-diphenyl-3-acetylpyrrole (I) is described. The cyclic derivative 1,6a-dihydro-2,5,6a-triphenyl-3,4-diacetylbenzo[g]pyrrolo[3,2-e]indole (II) was obtained in very good yield. However, when water was present in the reaction medium, a different derivative, 4-acetyl-2-hydroxy-2,5-diphenyl-3-(4′-acetyl-2′,5′-diphenyl-3′-yl)-2H-pyrrole (III) , was obtained as the main product. 2,2′,5,5′-Tetraphenyl-4,4′-diacetyl-3,3′-dipyrryl (IV) , a potentially useful intermediate for the synthesis of condensed pyrroles, was synthesized by zinc reduction of III. |