Effective and Green Synthesis of Methyl Pyrrole-1-carboxylate with Dimethyl Carbonate Over Solid Base

The methyl pyrrole-1-carboxylate (1-MPC) was synthesized by highly selective one-pot N-methoxycarbonylation of pyrrole with dimethyl carbonate (DMC). Solid bases were found to be effective catalysts and the formation of 1-MPC was closely related to their basicity. The in-situ FTIR indicated that the role of solid base catalysts was to activate pyrrole via the formation of O–H bond and the weakening of N–H bond, which was attributed to the interaction between pyrrole and surface oxygen anion of solid base. Furthermore, the reaction temperature and the reactants molar ratio were found to be the main factors for the improvement of pyrrole conversion.