Oxidation of Sulfones

Sulfones undergo peculiar reactions on treatment with carbon tetrachloride and potassium hydroxide in aqueous rm-butyl alcohol at 25-80 °C. Methyl phenyl sulfone yields phenyl trichloromethyl sulfone, which is hydrolyzed to benzenesulfonic acid [954. Dibenzyl sulfone is quantitatively converted into fran -stilbene, and dicyclohexyl sulfone is converted into a mixture of bicyclohexylidene and l,l-dichloro-2,3-dicyclohexylcy-clopropane [954] (equations 582-584). 

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Lastly, the anodic oxidation of sulfone anions could be achieved. Examples of the dimer formation are available in a recent paper [242]. The activity of a-sulfonyl anions at a positively polarized electrode was pointed out. The coupling of a,a-bissulfonyl anions by anodic oxidation was also achieved. These coupling reactions... 

Results by Erickson et al. (49) indicate the reaction is very fast and requires less than 2 moles of 03 (about 1.74) per mole of thiol. With [CH3SH]0 = 7 x 10 5 M and [03]0 = 3 x 10-4 M, they discovered the reaction was over in about 0.1 seconds. 03 was found to react with CH3SO3H to produce sulfuric acid much faster in basic solutions than in acidic solutions. However, the oxidation of sulfonic acid to sulfuric acid is very slow for all practical purposes. 

Chivukula M, Spadaro JT, Renganathan V (1995) Lignin peroxidase-catalyzed oxidation of sulfonated azo dyes generates novel sulfophenyl hydroperoxides. Biochemistry 34 7765-7772... 

The oxidation of higher alkenes in organic solvents proceeds under almost neutral conditions, and hence many functional groups such as ester or lac-tone[26,56-59], sulfonate[60], aldehyde[61-63], acetal[60], MOM ether[64], car-bobenzoxy[65], /-allylic alcohol[66], bromide[67,68], tertiary amine[69], and phenylselenide[70] can be tolerated. Partial hydrolysis of THP ether[71] and silyl ethers under certain conditions was reported. Alcohols are oxidized with Pd(II)[72-74] but the oxidation is slower than the oxidation of terminal alkenes and gives no problem when alcohols are used as solvents[75,76]. 

More commonly. 2-sulfonic acids (139) are prepared by oxidation of the corresponding A-4-thiazoline-2-thione (Scheme 72). Oxidation can be... 

The oxidation of 2- and 5-sulfides is usually performed in acetic acid and 30% hydrogen peroxide (213, 229, 263, 345-350) Or with m-chloroperbenzoic acid (341). Ary] (8, 272. 349, 351-353) and alkyl sulfones (129, 203, 214, 270, 274, 275) are thus obtained in good yields. Other oxidative reagents such as KMn04 (7, 273) or CrO (7) in acetic add have also been used. 

A major difference between alcohols and thiols concerns their oxidation We have seen earlier m this chapter that oxidation of alcohols gives compounds having carbonyl groups Analogous oxidation of thiols to compounds with C=S functions does not occur Only sulfur is oxidized not carbon and compounds containing sulfur m various oxida tion states are possible These include a series of acids classified as sulfemc sulfimc and sulfonic according to the number of oxygens attached to sulfur... 

Of these the most important are the sulfonic acids In general however sulfonic acids are not prepared by oxidation of thiols Arenesulfomc acids (ArS03H) for example are prepared by sulfonation of arenes (Section 12 4)... 

Oxidation of a sulfide to a sulfoxide or sulfone is accompanied by a decrease m shield ing of the H—C—S—C proton by about 0 3-0 5 ppm for each oxidation... 

Section 16 16 Oxidation of sulfides yields sulfoxides then sulfones Sodium metaper lodate IS specific for the oxidation of sulfides to sulfoxides and no fur ther Hydrogen peroxide or peroxy acids can yield sulfoxides (1 mole of oxidant per mole of sulfide) or sulfone (2 moles of oxidant per mole of sulfide)... 

Oxidation of 4 ten butylthiane (see Problem 16 23 for the structure of thiane) with sodium metaperiodate gives a mixture of two compounds of molecular formula CpHigOS Both products give the same sulfone on further oxidation with hydrogen peroxide What is the relationship between the two compounds ... 

Carbamates such as Aldicarb undergo degradation under both aerobic and anaerobic conditions. Indeed the oxidation of the sulfur moiety to the sulfoxide and sulfone is part of the activation of the compound to its most potent form. Subsequent aerobic metaboHsm can completely mineralize the compound, although this process is usually relatively slow so that it is an effective iasecticide, acaricide and nematocide. Anaerobically these compounds are hydrolyzed, and then mineralized by methanogens (61). 

Polyaniline (PANI) can be formed by electrochemical oxidation of aniline in aqueous acid, or by polymerization of aniline using an aqueous solution of ammonium thiosulfate and hydrochloric acid. This polymer is finding increasing use as a "transparent electrode" in semiconducting devices. To improve processibiHty, a large number of substituted polyanilines have been prepared. The sulfonated form of PANI is water soluble, and can be prepared by treatment of PANI with fuming sulfuric acid (31). A variety of other soluble substituted AJ-alkylsulfonic acid self-doped derivatives have been synthesized that possess moderate conductivity and allow facile preparation of spincoated thin films (32). 

The perfluoroalkane sulfonic acids were fkst reported ki 1954. Trifluoromethanesulfonic acid was obtained by the oxidation of bis(ttifluoromethyl thio) mercury with aqueous hydrogen peroxide (1). The preparation of a series of perfluoroalkanesulfonic acids derived from electrochemical fluotination (ECF) of alkane sulfonyl haUdes was also disclosed ki the same year (2). The synthetic operations employed when the perfluoroalkanesulfonic acid is derived from electrochemical fluotination, which is the best method of preparation, are shown ki equations 1—3. 

Air oxidation of dyestuff waste streams has been accompHshed using cobalt phthalocyanine sulfonate catalysts (176). Aluminum has been colored with copper phthalocyanine sulfonate (177,178). Iron phthalocyanine can be used as a drier in wood oil and linseed oil paints (179). 

Oxidation of a pyridinethione gives the corresponding sulfonic acid, eg, 6-carboxy-2-pyridinesulfonic acid [18616-02-9] from 6-carboxy-2-pyridinethione [14716-87-1] (eq. 14) (41). 

An asymmetric synthesis of estrone begins with an asymmetric Michael addition of lithium enolate (178) to the scalemic sulfoxide (179). Direct treatment of the cmde Michael adduct with y /i7-chloroperbenzoic acid to oxidize the sulfoxide to a sulfone, followed by reductive removal of the bromine affords (180, X = a and PH R = H) in over 90% yield. Similarly to the conversion of (175) to (176), base-catalyzed epimerization of (180) produces an 85% isolated yield of (181, X = /5H R = H). C8 and C14 of (181) have the same relative and absolute stereochemistry as that of the naturally occurring steroids. Methylation of (181) provides (182). A (CH2)2CuLi-induced reductive cleavage of sulfone (182) followed by stereoselective alkylation of the resultant enolate with an allyl bromide yields (183). Ozonolysis of (183) produces (184) (wherein the aldehydric oxygen is by isopropyUdene) in 68% yield. Compound (184) is the optically active form of Ziegler s intermediate (176), and is converted to (+)-estrone in 6.3% overall yield and >95% enantiomeric excess (200). 

General Reaction Chemistry of Sulfonic Acids. Sulfonic acids may be used to produce sulfonic acid esters, which are derived from epoxides, olefins, alkynes, aHenes, and ketenes, as shown in Figure 1 (10). Sulfonic acids may be converted to sulfonamides via reaction with an amine in the presence of phosphoms oxychloride [10025-87-3] POCl (H)- Because sulfonic acids are generally not converted directiy to sulfonamides, the reaction most likely involves a sulfonyl chloride intermediate. Phosphoms pentachlotide [10026-13-8] and phosphoms pentabromide [7789-69-7] can be used to convert sulfonic acids to the corresponding sulfonyl haUdes (12,13). The conversion may also be accompHshed by continuous electrolysis of thiols or disulfides in the presence of aqueous HCl [7647-01-0] (14) or by direct sulfonation with chlorosulfuric acid. Sulfonyl fluorides are typically prepared by direct sulfonation with fluorosulfutic acid [7789-21-17, or by reaction of the sulfonic acid or sulfonate with fluorosulfutic acid. Halogenation of sulfonic acids, which avoids production of a sulfonyl haUde, can be achieved under oxidative halogenation conditions (15). 

SuIfona.tlon, Sulfonation is a common reaction with dialkyl sulfates, either by slow decomposition on heating with the release of SO or by attack at the sulfur end of the O—S bond (63). Reaction products are usually the dimethyl ether, methanol, sulfonic acid, and methyl sulfonates, corresponding to both routes. Reactive aromatics are commonly those with higher reactivity to electrophilic substitution at temperatures > 100° C. Tn phenylamine, diphenylmethylamine, anisole, and diphenyl ether exhibit ring sulfonation at 150—160°C, 140°C, 155—160°C, and 180—190°C, respectively, but diphenyl ketone and benzyl methyl ether do not react up to 190°C. Diphenyl amine methylates and then sulfonates. Catalysis of sulfonation of anthraquinone by dimethyl sulfate occurs with thaHium(III) oxide or mercury(II) oxide at 170°C. Alkyl interchange also gives sulfation. 

The total antioxidant activity of teas and tea polyphenols in aqueous phase oxidation reactions has been deterrnined using an assay based on oxidation of 2,2 -azinobis-(3-ethylbenzothiazoline-sulfonate) (ABTS) by peroxyl radicals (114—117). Black and green tea extracts (2500 ppm) were found to be 8—12 times more effective antioxidants than a 1-mAf solution of the water-soluble form of vitamin E, Trolox. The most potent antioxidants of the tea flavonoids were found to be epicatechin gallate and epigallocatechin gallate. A 1-mAf solution of these flavanols were found respectively to be 4.9 and 4.8 times more potent than a 1-mAf solution of Trolox in scavenging an ABT radical cation. 

Alkyl sulfonic acids are prepared by the oxidation of thiols (36,37). This reaction is not quite as simple as would initially appear, because the reaction does not readily go to completion. The use of strong oxidants can result in the complete oxidation of the thiol to carbon dioxide, water, and sulfur dioxide. 

The kinetics of formation and hydrolysis of /-C H OCl have been investigated (262). The chemistry of alkyl hypochlorites, /-C H OCl in particular, has been extensively explored (247). /-Butyl hypochlorite reacts with a variety of olefins via a photoinduced radical chain process to give good yields of aUyflc chlorides (263). Steroid alcohols can be oxidized and chlorinated with /-C H OCl to give good yields of ketosteroids and chlorosteroids (264) (see Steroids). /-Butyl hypochlorite is a more satisfactory reagent than HOCl for /V-chlorination of amines (265). Sulfides are oxidized in excellent yields to sulfoxides without concomitant formation of sulfones (266). 2-Amino-1, 4-quinones are rapidly chlorinated at room temperature chlorination occurs specifically at the position adjacent to the amino group (267). Anhydropenicillin is converted almost quantitatively to its 6-methoxy derivative by /-C H OCl in methanol (268). Reaction of unsaturated hydroperoxides with /-C H OCl provides monocyclic and bicycHc chloroalkyl 1,2-dioxolanes. 

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