Reduction thiolate substitution

In the former case, the dibromo- or dichloro-substituted arene is reacted with cuprous or sodium thiolates to give vicinal thioethers, which can be reductively dealkylated, for example with Na/NH3, to give the dithiols.63 Alternatively, benzenethiol is reacted with ra-BuLi, and the resulting lithiated product is made to react with elemental sulfur to give the 1,2-dithiolate salt. 

Thioetherification of PECH is feasibly performed in DA-solvents as already described in the patent (20J. For example, the highest substitution was obtained by the reaction of P(ECH-EO)(1 1 copolymer of epichloro-hydrin and ethylene oxide) and equimolar thiophenoxide in HMPA at 100°C for 10 h as DS 83% for sodium and 93% for potassium salts. The DS in our nucleophilic substitution was estimated by the elemental analysis as well as the titration of liberated chloride ion with mercuric nitrate (21). In the latter method, reacted medium was pretreated with hydrogen peroxide when the reductive nucleophiles which can react with mercuric ion were used. As described before for PVC, thiolation was also achieved conveniently with iso-thiuronium salt followed by alkaline hydrolysis without the direct use of ill-smelling thiolate. The thiolated PECH obtained are rubbery solids, soluble in toluene, methylene chloride, ethyl methyl ketone and DMF and insoluble in water, acetone, dioxane and methanol. 

Typical phase transfer catalysis in liquid-liquid systems combines processes in which Na+ or K+ salts of inorganic and organic anions derived from strong adds (phenolates, thiolates, carboxylates, etc.) are continuously transferred from aqueous (often alkaline) solutions to the organic phase by the phase transfer catalysts. Applications include nucleophilic substitution, addition, elimination, oxidation, and reduction reactions. 

Some strategies used for the preparation of support-bound thiols are listed in Table 8.1. Oxidative thiolation of lithiated polystyrene has been used to prepare polymeric thiophenol (Entry 1, Table 8.1). Polystyrene functionalized with 2-mercaptoethyl groups has been prepared by radical addition of thioacetic acid to cross-linked vinyl-polystyrene followed by hydrolysis of the intermediate thiol ester (Entry 2, Table 8.1). A more controllable introduction of thiol groups, suitable also for the selective transformation of support-bound substrates, is based on nucleophilic substitution with thiourea or potassium thioacetate. The resulting isothiouronium salts and thiol acetates can be saponified, preferably under reductive conditions, to yield thiols (Table 8.1). Thiol acetates have been saponified on insoluble supports with mercaptoethanol [1], propylamine [2], lithium aluminum hydride [3], sodium or lithium borohydride, alcoholates, or hydrochloric acid (Table 8.1). 

More recently, thiolated dextran was synthesised by modification of dextran with 4-nitrophenyl chloroformate in DMSO/pyridine in the presence of DMAP at 0 °C yielding a carbonate (content 6%), which can be substituted with cystamine. Subsequent reduction yields the thiolated dextran containing between 1 and 4% thiol moieties (Fig. 57) [370]. 

Several thiols occur naturally for example, skunk secretion contains 3-methyll-butanethiol and cut onions evolve 1-propanethiol, and the thiol group of the natural amino acid cysteine plays a vital role in the biochemistry of proteins and enzymes (see Introduction, p. 2). Primary and secondary thiols may be prepared from alkyl halides (RX) by reaction with excess sodium thiolate (SN2 nucleophilic substitution by HST) or via the Grignard reagent and reaction with sulfur. Tertiary thiols can be obtained in good yields by addition of hydrogen sulfide to a suitable alkene. Thiols can also be prepared by reduction of sulfonyl chlorides (Scheme l).la,2a... 

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