A-Sulfenyl ester

Transpositions of a carbonyl group. An a-sulfenylated ester (1), prepared as described above, can be reduced by lithium aluminum hydride in THF at 25° in high yield to the alcohol (2). Treatment with thionyl chloride (benzene or ether) yields the primary chloride (3), which can be dehydrohalo-... 

This reaction has also been applied to a-sulfenyl esters (equation II) and a-sulfenyl lactones (equation HO-... 

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