Chen Y, Qi H, Chen N, Ren D, Xu J, Yang Z. Fluorium-Initiated Dealkylative Cyanation of Thioethers to Thiocyanates.
J Org Chem 2019;
84:9044-9050. [PMID:
31244086 DOI:
10.1021/acs.joc.9b00965]
[Citation(s) in RCA: 21] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/16/2022]
Abstract
Thioethers are converted to thiocyanates via fluorium-initiated dealkylative cyanation. Selectfluor is used as the oxidant, and trimethylsilyl cyanide is used as the cyanation reagent. The well-streamlined procedure is user-friendly, operationally simple, and step-economical. The current mechanistic studies show that the sulfur radical cation and cyano radical are both involved. They combine to deliver cyanosulfonium, an intermediate toward thiocyanate after dealkylation. Alternatively, a nucleophilic mechanism is also possible. Our dealkyaltive cyanation is also efficient in synthesizing thiocyanates with strongly electrophilic functionalities.
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