Cleavage benzyl-sulfur bonds

An interesting cleavage of a carbon-sulfur bond in benzylic and allylic sulfides derived from 5-mercapto-l -phenyl-1 //-tetrazole has been reported [326]. The overall reaction is an alkylation a to a carbonyl group. 

Typical examples for type 2 are the cleavage of the carbon-oxygen bond in benzylic ethers (X = OR) either directly or indirectly via triarylamine cation radicals [49] (Eq. 22.42), the cleavage of the carbon-nitrogen bond in amines (X = NR2) [50] (Eq. 22.43), and the cleavage of the carbon-sulfur bond in sulfides (X = SR) [51] (Eq. 22.44) ... 

Benzyl phenyl sulfides can be sequentially metallated and alkylated. The cleavage of the carbon-sulfur bond in the resulting product leads to a benzyllithium and lithium phenylthiolate. Alkylation of the former organometallic then produces an alkylbenzene (Scheme 15), but competing alkylation on the thiolate is however observed. 

Benzyltrifluoromethylsulfide, formed from benzylthiocyanate, can lead to trifly chloride by oxidative chlorination under slight pressure (Fig. 13). Cleavage of the carbon-sulfur bond was easy in this example because the benzyl group is able to stabilize a positive charge. 

Diphenylthiirene 1-oxide reacts with hydroxylamine to give the oxime of benzyl phenyl ketone (79JA390). The reaction probably occurs by addition to the carbon-carbon double bond followed by loss of sulfur monoxide (Scheme 80). Dimethylamine adds to the double bond of 2,3-diphenylthiirene 1,1-dioxide with loss of sulfur dioxide (Scheme 81) (75JOC3189). Azide ion gives seven products, one of which involves cleavage of the carbon-carbon bond of an intermediate cycloadduct (Scheme 81) (80JOC2604). 

The initial C-0 bond cleavage (by attack of a/the bromide ion at the benzylic carbon, followed by recyclization of the intermediate 301 by selective alkylation at sulfur) was suggested to be responsible for a stereospecific rearrangement of 2-substituted-1,3,2 -oxazaphospholidine-2-thiones 299 derived from (-) pseudoephedrine into... 

M[pz(A4)] A = S2ML2. The octakis(.V-R)porphyra/,ines reported by Schramm and Hoffman (2), M[pz(S-R)8 (M = Ni, Cu), (60), can be converted to the octathiolate M[pz(S )g] (Scheme 11) via reductive cleavage of the sulfur-carbon bond when R = benzyl (Bn), and this tetra-bis(dithiolate) can then be peripherally capped with metal-ligand systems to yield peripherally tetrametalated star porphyrazines. The benzyl dinitrile 57 can be macrocyclized around magnesium butoxide to form [Mg[pz(S-Bn)8] (58) (35-40%), which can then be demetalated with trifluoroacetic acid to form 59 (90%), which is subsequently remetalated with nickel or copper acetate to form 60a (95%) and 60b (70%) (Scheme 11) (3, 23, 24). Deprotection of 60a or 60b with sodium in ammonia yields the Ni or Cu tetra-enedithiolates, 61a or 61b to which addition of di-ferf-butyl or n-butyl tin dinitrate produces the peripherally metalated star porphyrazines 62a (37%), 62b (80%), and 62c (41%). 

---