Hydrogenation of pyrrole derivatives. II. Hydrogenations over supported noble metal catalysts Original Research Article

The heterogeneous catalytic hydrogenation of 1-methyl-2-pyrroleethanol resulted in 1-methyl-2-pyrrolidineethanol, an important and valuable pharmaceutical intermediate. Various noble metal catalysts on different supports have been screened. The best results were achieved with a carbon supported rhodium catalyst, in non-acidic medium, under mild reaction conditions (6 bar, room temperature). Ruthenium on carbon also showed high activity in this hydrogenation.