Sulfonium rearrangement

Two efficient syntheses of strained cyclophanes indicate the synthetic potential of allyl or benzyl sulfide intermediates, in which the combined nucleophilicity and redox activity of the sulfur atom can be used. The dibenzylic sulfides from xylylene dihalides and -dithiols can be methylated with dimethoxycarbenium tetrafiuoroborate (H. Meerwein, 1960 R.F. Borch, 1968, 1969 from trimethyl orthoformate and BFj, 3 4). The sulfonium salts are deprotonated and rearrange to methyl sulfides (Stevens rearrangement). Repeated methylation and Hofmann elimination yields double bonds (R.H. Mitchell, 1974). 

The reaction of thioethers with ethyleneimine in the presence of acid yields sulfonium compounds. The reaction is reversible under alkaline conditions (125). Compounds in which double-bonded sulfur can exist in tautomerism with a form having a free SH group, such as thiourea (126,127), thiocarboxyhc acids (128), and thiophosphates (129), react to give aminoaLkylated products. The P-aminoethyl thiocarboxylate rearranges to give the amide. 

Electrophilic attack on the sulfur atom of thiiranes by alkyl halides does not give thiiranium salts but rather products derived from attack of the halide ion on the intermediate cyclic salt (B-81MI50602). Treatment of a s-2,3-dimethylthiirane with methyl iodide yields cis-2-butene by two possible mechanisms (Scheme 31). A stereoselective isomerization of alkenes is accomplished by conversion to a thiirane of opposite stereochemistry followed by desulfurization by methyl iodide (75TL2709). Treatment of thiiranes with alkyl chlorides and bromides gives 2-chloro- or 2-bromo-ethyl sulfides (Scheme 32). Intramolecular alkylation of the sulfur atom of a thiirane may occur if the geometry is favorable the intermediate sulfonium ions are unstable to nucleophilic attack and rearrangement may occur (Scheme 33). 

The sulfur analogue of the Hauser ortho-substitution rearrangement provides access to an arylacet-ic NSAID. Reaction of the aminobenzophenone 176 with ethyl methylthioacetate and tert-butyl hypochlorite gives the intermediate 178. The reaction probably proceeds by way of formation of the S-chlorinated sulfonium derivative 177 displacement on sulfur will lead to the salt 178. Treatment with triethylamine leads initially to the betaine 179. Electrocyelic rearrangement of that transient intermediate leads, after rearomatization, to the homoanthranilic acid 180. Internal ester-amine interchange leads then to indolone 181 [45]. The thiomethyl group is then removed with Raney niekel. Saponifieation of intermediate 182 affords bromfenac (183) [46J. 

Ylides 2 can be prepared in situ from the sulfonium salts 1 with sodium hydride. These ylides 2 react with electrophiles, for example, acetylenes, to give the new stable ylides 3, for R1 =R2 = Me as a mixture of the cis- and trans-isomer, otherwise as the trans-isomer only. Compounds 3 are stable in refluxing tetrahydrofuran for 1 hour, but heating without solvent at 170-200r C for 3 to 5 minutes results in a 1,4-rearrangement to give thiaazulenes 4 quantitatively, with the exception of R1 = R2 = Et, where the yield is 25%.98... 

Similar to the well-known thio-Claisen rearrangement of allyl aryl sulfides211 and sulfonium salts212, the thio-Claisen rearrangement of allyl aryl sulfoxides has also been reported213. For example, heating of allyl 2-naphthyl sulfoxide (147) at 120 °C for 2h in dimethylformamide resulted in quantitative isomerization to the dihydronaphthothio-... 

Thia-[2,3]-Wittig sigmatropic rearrangement of lithiated carbanions 47, obtained by deprotonation of the S-allylic sulfides 46, affords the thiols 48 or their alkylated derivatives 49. The corresponding sulfonium ylides 51, prepared by deprotonation of the sulfonium salts 50 also undergoes a [2,3]-sigmatropic shift leading to the same sulfides 49 [36,38] (Scheme 13). As far as stereochemistry is concerned, with crotyl (R R =H,R =Me) and cinnamyl (R, R =H,R =Ph) derivatives, it has been shown that the diastereoselectivity depends on the nature of the R substituent and on the use of a carbanion or an ylide as intermediate. 

A more direct access to the unstable and non isolated sulfonium ylides 58a- c is the reaction of diisopropyl diazomethylphosphonate 57 with allylic sulfides, catalyzed by Cu(II), Rh(II) [39], or ruthenium porphyrins.[40] For example, the a-phosphorylated y,d-unsaturated sulfides 59-61 are obtained through the [2,3] -sigmatropic rearrangement of 58a-c. This method allows the use of a greater variety of starting allylic sulfide substrates, such as 2-vinyl tetrahydrothiophene, or propargylic sulfides (Scheme 15). 

The rearrangements of allylic sulfoxides, selenoxides, and amine oxides are an example of the first type. Allylic sulfonium ylides and ammonium ylides also undergo [2,3]-sigmatropic rearrangements. Rearrangements of carbanions of allylic ethers are the major example of the anionic type. These reactions are considered in the following sections. 

Allylic sulfonium ylides readily undergo [2,3]-sigmatropic rearrangement.280 The ylides are usually formed by deprotonation of the S-allyl sulfonium salts. 

Scheme 6.18. Carbon-Carbon Bond Formation via [2,3]-Sigmatropic Rearrangements of Sulfonium and Ammonium Ylides...

Synthetically valuable [2,3]-sigmatropic rearrangements include those of allyl sulfonium and ammonium ylides and a -carbanions of allyl vinyl ethers. 

Shimizu and co-workers reported that thermal decomposition of A4-thiabenzenes ylides afforded both thienofuran and thiophene derivatives in addition to the expected alkyl-rearranged products. A plausible mechanism was proposed with a [3.1.0] bicyclic sulfonium salt 9 as the key reactive intermediate <2001J(P1)2269>. Warren and co-workers, in their study of stereospecific phenysulfanyl migrations, found that [l,4]-sulfanyl participation could compete with the usual [l,2]-sulfanyl participation <1999SL1211>. Rearrangement of alcohol 18 with TsCl in pyridine gave an inseparable mixture of isomeric chlorides, 19 and 20, in a ratio of 52 48, as shown in Equation (3). 

A thermally stable sulfonium ylide is also obtained from the CuS04-catalyzed reaction between dimethyl diazomalonate and thioxanthene or its 9-alkyl derivatives 339 > rearrangement to the thioxanthen-9-ylmalonate occurs only with base catalysis. 

The CJS insertion reaction was suppressed completely upon catalytic decomposition of diazoketones 361, where the sulfur substituent was alkyl, acyl or thioacyl. It is presumed that sulfonium ylides occur as intermediates which give cepham (or cephem) derivatives in all cases270,343) rather than products of a Stevens rearrangement. 

The reaction of carbenes or carbenoids with compounds containing S—S bonds is likely to begin with sulfonium ylide formation subsequent [1,2] rearrangement then produces a formal insertion product of the carbene moiety into the S—S bond152 b). 

The numerous straightforward examples of internal displacement reactions leading to isolable cyclic products will not be discussed here, but only, for the most part, those ionization reactions in which a cyclic intermediate or transition state is deduced from the rearranged structure of the product. A well-known example is mustard gas and other alkyl chlorides with sulfur on the /3-carbon atom. Although mustard gas is a primary and saturated alkyl chloride, its behavior is like that of a typical tertiary alkyl chloride. It reacts so fast by a first order ionization that the rate of the usual second order displacement reaction of primary alkyl halides is not measureable. Only the ultimate product, not the rate, is determined by the added reagent.228 Since the effect of the sulfur is too large to be explicable in terms of a carbon sulfur dipole or similar explanation, a cyclic sulfonium ion has been proposed as an... 

The sulfur accelerates the ionization by direct participation as an internal displacing reagent. The reagent Y may attack the sulfonium ion at either of the ring carbon atoms, causing rearrangement in suitable derivatives 229 CHS... 

It is interesting to note that asymmetric induction was also observed (308) during generation of ylide 288 from achiral sulfonium salt 287a by means of chiral lithium 2,2,2-trifluoromethyl-a-phenylethoxide. The [2,3]sigmatropic rearrangement of the chiral ylide 288 obtained in situ in this way leads to optically active sulfide 289 of 5% optical purity. 

Complexation of sodium to the persulfoxide A (Fig. 13B) appears to inhibit intramolecular hydrogen abstraction to form the hydroperoxy sulfonium ylide (B in Fig. 13A) and allows a direct reaction of 12 with the sodium-complexed persulfoxide, (A in Fig. 13B) to compete. Consistent with this suggestion is the observation that the formation of 13CHO that emanates from the hydroperoxy sulfonium ylide by Pummerer rearrangement and subsequent cleavage is completely suppressed during photo-oxidations of thiolane, 13, in NaMBY ... 

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