Ethyl pyrrole-2-carboxylates, versatile precursors for the total synthesis of both synthetic model and naturally occurring tetrapyrroles and porphyrins, can be prepared in greatly improved yields by the addition of 1, 3-diketones and preformed diethyl aminomalonate to boiling glacial acetic acid. The method is suitable for both small-and large-scale synthesis and has proved far more reliable than the original in situ dissolving zinc reduction of ...