Sonogashira Coupling Offers a New Synthetic Route to Thieno[2,3- c ]pyrazoles

1,3-Disubstituted-5-chloro-4-iodopyrazoles are selectively coupled with phenylacetylene under typical Sonogashira reaction conditions [PdCl2(PPh3)2, CuI, Et3N, dimethylformamide (DMF)] to obtain the corresponding 5-chloro-4-(phenylethynyl)pyrazoles in good yield. The latter are smoothly cyclized with Na2S in DMF into the corresponding thieno[2,3-c]pyrazoles. Detailed spectroscopic investigations (1H, 13C, and 15N NMR, mass, and infrared) of all compounds are reported.