Iurev Reaction

Iur’ev Reaction

 

a method for converting furan into its analogues:

These analogues are pyrrole (X = NH), thiophene (X = S), and selenophene (X = Se), which are produced by passing furan vapor with ammonia, hydrogen sulfide, or hydrogen selenide, respectively, over aluminum oxide (Al2O3) at 400°–450°C. Yields range from 30 to 40 percent. Under the same conditions the hy-drogenated analogues and homologues of furan react by the same mechanism as furan; for example, tetrahydrofuran is converted almost quantitatively by the reaction into tetrahydrothiophene.

The reaction, which was discovered in 1935 by the Soviet chemist Iu. K. Iur’ev (1896–1965), is applied in organic synthesis for the production of several substituted pyrroles.