Exploring the versatility of 5-sulfosalicylic acid dihydrate as catalyst in 3-pyrrolin-2-one Synthesis

We have developed a one-pot, four-component synthetic approach utilizing 5-sulfosalicylic acid dihydrate (5-SSA.2H₂O) as an organocatalyst, enabling the synthesis of polyfunctional 3-pyrrolin-2-one molecules by employing dialkylacetylenedicarboxylate, amines, and either formaldehyde or aromatic aldehydes at room temperature. This approach presents numerous notable benefits such as shorter reaction time, simple and eco-friendly procedure, excellent yield, broad applicability across various substrates, and the use of a cost-effective, easily accessible and biodegradable catalyst. The structures of the 3-pyrrolin-2-one molecules were confirmed using techniques such as FTIR, ¹HNMR, ¹³CNMR and HRMS. Overall, this study demonstrates a promising method for producing environmentally friendly polyfunctional 3-pyrrolin-2-one efficiently and smoothly at ambient temperature.