Sulfenylations and Related Reactions

Methods for the Direct Introduction of Sulfur, Selenium or TeUurium 

Alkali acetylides react very easily with disulfides, R SSR, thiocyanates, R SC=N, and thiosulfonates, R SS02R The reactions can be carried out in liquid ammonia as well as in organic solvents and generally give excellent yields of the acetylenic sulfides, RChCSR [2,105]. Although sulfenyl halides seem suitable reagents for the introduction of alkylthio- or arylthio groups, they are seldom used for this reaction, because of their sensitivity and the 

---

Toluenesulfenyl chloride has been prepared by the action of chlorine on a solution of -toluenethiol or />-tolyl disulfide in anhydrous carbon tetrachloride.2,3 Benzenesulfenyl chloride has also been obtained by the interaction of hydrogen chloride and N,N-diethylbenzenesulfenamide 4 and by reaction of benzenethiol with N-chlorosuccinimide.6 A comprehensive review dealing with sulfenyl halides and related compounds is available.6... 

TP here are very few examples in the literature of poly (arylene polysulfides). Perhaps the first such preparation was that of Fried el and Crafts (I), in which benzene reacted with sulfur in the presence of aluminum chloride. Within the last 15 years, several poly(arylene polysulfides) have been prepared by related reactions in which various aromatic compounds reacted with sulfur monochloride in the presence of Friedel-Crafts catalysts (2, 3, 4). A variation of this reaction has also been reported using a bifiunctional sulfenyl chloride (5) ... 

In this chapter, we discuss reactions that either add adjacent (vicinal) groups to a carbon-carbon double bond (addition) or remove two adjacent groups to form a new double bond (elimination). The discussion focuses on addition reactions that proceed by electrophilic polar (heterolytic) mechanisms. In subsequent chapters we discuss addition reactions that proceed by radical (homolytic), nucleophilic, and concerted mechanisms. The electrophiles discussed include protic acids, halogens, sulfenyl and selenenyl reagents, epoxidation reagents, and mercuric and related metal cations, as well as diborane and alkylboranes. We emphasize the relationship between the regio-and stereoselectivity of addition reactions and the reaction mechanism. 

Di-tert-butyl methylenemalonate was originally prepared by phenyl-sulfenylation of di-tert-butyl methylmalonate and thermal elimination of the related sulfoxide.8 Because methylenemalonate esters are customarily prepared by Knoevenagel-type condensation of malonic esters with formaldehyde equivalents, the considerably more convenient procedure described herein was subsequently adapted from Bachman and Tanner s study using paraformaldehyde under metal ion catalysis.39 The approximately 6% di-tert-butyl malonate accompanying the product has presented no interference in the aforementioned reactions with nucleophilic alkenes under neutral or acidic conditions, but its presence should be taken into consideration in other applications. 

Thiiranes can be formed directly and stereospecifically from 1,2-disubstituted alkenes by addition of trimethylsilylsulfenyl bromide, formed at -78 C from reaction of bromine with bis(trimethylsilyl) sulfide (Scheme 7).12 A two-step synthesis of thiiranes can be achieved by addition of succinimide-A/-sulfe-nyl chloride or phthalimide-A -sulfenyl chloride to alkenes followed by lithium aluminum hydride cleavage of the adducts (Scheme 8).13 Thiaheterocycles can also be formed by intramolecular electrophilic addition of sulfenyl chlorides to alkenes, e.g. as seen in Schemes 914 and 10.13 Related examples involving sulfur dichloride are shown in Schemes 1116 and 12.17 In the former case addition of sulfur dichloride to 1,5-cyclooctadiene affords a bicyclic dichloro sulfide via regio- and stereo-specific intramolecular addition of an intermediate sulfenyl chloride. Removal of chlorine by lithium aluminum hydride reduction affords 9-thiabicyclo[3.3.1]nonane, which can be further transformed into bicyclo[3.3.0]oct-1,5-ene.16... 

Vinyl sulfides have been prepared by the catalytic addition of the S—H bond of thiols (85) to terminal alkynes (86) under solvent-free conditions using the nickel complex Ni(acac)2 (47). High alkyne conversions (up to 99%) were achieved after 30 min at 40 °C in favor of the corresponding Markovnikov products (87) (equation 23). Other metal acetylacetonate complexes were examined for this reaction, but none showed any improvement over the nickel catalyst. Mechanistic details suggest that alkyne insertion into the Ni—S bond is important to the catalytic cycle and that nanosized structural units comprised of [Ni(SAr)2] represent the active form of the catalyst. Isothiocyanates and vinyl sulfides have been produced in related Rh(acac)(H2C=CH2)2 (6) and VO(acac)2 (35) catalyzed sulfenylation reactions of aryl cyanides and aryl acetylenes, respectively. 

Related to the activation of thioglycosides by sulfenylation are selenylation type reactions (E = SeR) (Scheme 4.15). Arylselenylating type promoters used with thioglycosides include benzeneselenenyl triflate [199,200] or the Wphenylselenylphtalimide-trimethylsilyltriflate [201] and Wphenylselenylphtalimide-magnesium perchlorate [202] systems. 

---