Diaryl sulphoxides synthesis

Chiral alcohols have also been used in an asymmetric synthesis of sulphoxides based on halogenation of sulphides. Johnson and coworkers have found319 that the reaction of benzyl p-tolyl sulphide with JV-chlorobenzotriazole (NCBT) followed by addition of (—) menthol and silver tetrafluoroborate afforded diastereoisomeric menthoxysulphonium salts 267 which, upon recrystallization and hydrolysis, gave benzyl p-tolyl sulphoxide with 87% optical purity (equation 145). More recently, Oae and coworkers reported320 that optically active diaryl sulphoxides (e.e. up to 20%) were formed either by hydrolysis or thermolysis of the corresponding diaryl menthoxysulphonium salts prepared in situ from diaryl sulphides using ( —) menthol and t-butyl hypochlorite. 

The Andersen sulphoxide synthesis is general in scope and a large number of chiral alkyl aryl and diaryl sulphoxides became available from (—)-(S)-276 and other optically active sulphinates343-346 (Table 16). 

A high yield synthesis involving formal oxidation of a sulphoxide to a sulphoximine has been reported183 using O-mesitylenesulphonyl hydroxylamine (NH2OMes) (equation 67). The reaction is successful for a wide range of sulphoxides including dialkyl, diaryl and cyclic species. 

The reaction of alkyllithium reagents with diaryl or alkyl aryl sulphoxides results in a displacement of the aromatic group by the alkyl group from the alkyllithium (equation 369) . Johnson and coworkers ° were the first to apply this reaction for the synthesis of optically active alkyl methyl sulphoxides. Later on. Durst and coworkers found that the aromatic group which can best carry a negative charge is the most readily displaced, and that the lowest yields of displacement were observed when methyllithium was used as a nucleophilic reagent. The results are summarized in Table 28. 

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