Transition-metal mediated carbon-sulfur bond activation and transformations: an update

Carbon-sulfur bond cross-coupling has become more and more attractive as an alternative protocol to establish carbon-carbon and carbon-heteroatom bonds. Diverse transformations through transition-metal-catalyzed C-S bond activation and cleavage have recently been developed. This review summarizes the advances in transition-metal-catalyzed cross-coupling via carbon-sulfur bond activation and cleavage since late 2012 as an update of the critical review on the same topic published in early 2013 (Chem. Soc. Rev., 2013, 42, 599-621), which is presented by the categories of organosulfur compounds, that is, thioesters, thioethers including heteroaryl, aryl, vinyl, alkyl, and alkynyl sulfides, ketene dithioacetals, sulfoxides including DMSO, sulfones, sulfonyl chlorides, sulfinates, thiocyanates, sulfonium salts, sulfonyl hydrazides, sulfonates, thiophene-based compounds, and C[double bond, length as m-dash]S functionality-bearing compounds such as thioureas, thioamides, and carbon disulfide, as well as the mechanistic insights. An overview of C-S bond cleavage reactions with stoichiometric transition-metal reagents is briefly given. Theoretical studies on the reactivity of carbon-sulfur bonds by DFT calculations are also discussed.

Chemoselective oxidative addition of vinyl sulfones mediated by palladium complexes bearing picolyl-N-heterocyclic carbene ligands

The manifold interactions of (E)- or (Z)-1,2-ditosylethene with a palladium(0) centre bearing picolyl-NHC carbene ligands have been studied thoroughly. (E)-1,2-Ditosylethene produces the expected and stable η²-olefin palladium complexes, whereas the coordination of the Z derivative alternatively promotes the isomerization of the olefin itself or an oxidative addition process depending on the steric bulkiness of carbene substituents and/or the adopted synthetic procedure. Remarkably, the oxidative addition pathway involves a selective S-vinyl (not S-aryl) breaking and produces selectively the S- rather than O-coordinated sulfinate. A mechanistic study has clarified the reasons of the chemoselectivity of the process, which was proved to be kinetically controlled. All the involved species have been isolated and exhaustively characterized. In particular, we report the first example of the X-ray crystal structure of a complex bearing one vinyl and one S-sulfinate fragment coordinated to palladium.

Iodine-Mediated Direct Generation of o-Quinone Methides at Room Temperature: A Facile Protocol for the Synthesis of ortho-Hydroxybenzyl Thioethers

An iodine-mediated preparation of ortho-quinone methides (o-QMs) from ortho-hydroxybenzyl alcohols by a C-O bond scission strategy is described. The in situ generated o-QMs were then employed for C-S bond formation by thio-Michael addition of thiols to provide the ortho-hydroxybenzyl thioethers (o-HBT) in moderate to excellent yields.

Organophosphines in organoplatinum complexes: structural aspects of trans-PtP2C2 derivatives

This review summarized and analyzed the structural parameters of 174 monomeric organoplatinum complexes with an inner coordination sphere of trans-PtP2C2. These complexes crystallized in four crystal systems: hexagonal (x2), orthorhombic (x13), triclinic (x76), and monoclinic (x84). These complexes, on the basis of the coordination mode of the respective donor ligands, can be divided into the seven sub-groups: Pt(PL)2(CL)2, Pt(PL)2(η2-C2L), Pt(η2-P2L)(CL)2, Pt(PL)(η2-P,CL)(CL), Pt(η2-P,CL)2, Pt(η3-P,C,PL)(CL), and Pt(η3-C,P,CL)(PL). The chelating ligands create 4-, 5-, 6-, 16-, 17-, 18-, and 19-membered rings. The total mean values of Pt-L bond distances are 2.055 Å (C) and 2.300 Å (P). There are examples that exist in two isomeric forms and are examples of distortion isomerism. The structural parameters of trans-PtP2C2 are discussed with those of cis-PtP2C2 derivatives.

Iridium-mediated C–S bond activation and transformation: organoiridium(iii) thioether, thiolato, sulfinato and thiyl radical compounds. Synthesis, mechanistic, spectral, electrochemical and theoretical aspects

The iridium-mediated C–S bond scission by an uncommon SET reductive process: exploration of S-centered reactivity of iridium(iii) thiolato complex.