Functional rearrangement of polychlorinated pyrrolidin-2-onesto 5-imino-lactams promoted by n-propylamine

Abstract—The reaction of 4-methyl-pyrrolidin-2-ones, chlorinated at the C(3) and C(6) positions, with n-propylamine constitutes a new method for the preparation of 5-propylimino-pyrrolidin-2-ones or 3-pyrrolin-2-ones in generally good yields. The transformation involves a series of eliminations, substitutions and double bond shifts. This constitutes a remarkable example of a functional rearrangement.