Sulfonium salts formation

There are four main factors that affect the enantioselectivity of sulfur ylide-mediated reactions i) the lone-pair selectivity of the sulfonium salt formation, ii) the conformation of the resulting ylide, iii) the face selectivity of the ylide, and iv) betaine reversibility. 

The Me2S produced in every single condensation step must consume an equivalent amount of 0-methyl-ester functions because no sulfur is lost. Therefore, after isomerization of I, one half of II is required for sulfonium salt formation, and a reasonable stoichiometry of the II-conversion results from the sum of equations (2) and (3). Since by reaction (3) a large supply of anion III is offered, III will be the dominant nucleophile for condensation with II, and one may expect a large number of chains, i.e., a low average condensation degree b. 

The well-known procedure for desulfurization via sulfonium salt formation followed by base-catalyzed cyclization converts this reaction into a stereoselective alkenyloxirane synthesis. Some examples are illustrated in Scheme 4. 

Let us turn to answering the second question first. Potential precursors of dehydroalanine, by way of -elimination, are the amino acids with functional groups at the /3-carbon atom. Such -elimination reactions are likely to be enzyme-catalyzed in nature. Additionally, the substrates may be suitably substituted at functions, such as the sulfhydryl group (thioether and sulfonium salt formation) or the hydroxyl group (carbohydrate attachment—glycopeptides and proteins phosphorylation). 

Sulfur ylides contain a carbanion, which is stabilizea oy an adjacent positively-charged sulfur. Ylides derived from alkylsulfonium salts are usually generated and utilized at low temperatures. Oxosulfonium ylides are, however, stable near room temperature. The most common method of ylide formation is deprotonation of a sulfonium salt. What has been said... 

Allylic amine is a less reactive leaving group[7], but the allylic ammonium salts 214 (quaternary ammonium salts) can be used for allylalion(l30,131]. Allylic sulfonium salts are also used for the allylation[130]. The allylic nitrile in the cyclic aminonitrile 215 can be displaced probably via x-allylic complex formation. The possibility of the formation of the dihydropyridinium salts 216 and subsequent conjugate addition are less likelyfl 32],... 

Photopolymerization reactions are widely used for printing and photoresist appHcations (55). Spectral sensitization of cationic polymerization has utilized electron transfer from heteroaromatics, ketones, or dyes to initiators like iodonium or sulfonium salts (60). However, sensitized free-radical polymerization has been the main technology of choice (55). Spectral sensitizers over the wavelength region 300—700 nm are effective. AcryUc monomer polymerization, for example, is sensitized by xanthene, thiazine, acridine, cyanine, and merocyanine dyes. The required free-radical formation via these dyes may be achieved by hydrogen atom-transfer, electron-transfer, or exciplex formation with other initiator components of the photopolymer system. 

The ionic species 5, as well as 6, represent the so-called activated dimethyl sulfoxide. Variants using reagents other than oxalyl chloride for the activation of DMSO are known. In the reaction with an alcohol 1, species 5, as well as 6, leads to the formation of a sulfonium salt 7 ... 

In an attempt to prepare sulfonium-ylide polymer, Tani-moto and coworkers [57,58] carried out the reaction of a sulfonium salt polymer with benzaldehyde in the presence of a base and obtained styrene oxide. The reaction was considered to process via a ylide polymer formation (Scheme 24), which may be unstable and has not been isolated. 

Reactions involving intermediate formation of bicyclic sulfonium salts... 

Strained bicyclic sulfonium salts are important reactive intermediates and undergo subsequent transformations often with high levels of regio- and stereoselectivity. Various research groups have reported evidence for the formation of [4.1.0] 7, [3.2.0] 8, [3.1.0] 9, and [2.2.1] 10 bicyclic sulfonium salts as reactive intermediates. 

The favorable stereochemistry and the displacement of the very good leaving group promoted the formation of a [3.2.0] bicyclic intermediate (see Scheme 2). Owing to the absence of a C2 symmetry axis two different [3.2.0] bicyclic sulfonium salt intermediates, 8a and 8b, can be generated by nucleophilic transannular attack of sulfur on the... 

In addition the structure of the 1,2-azathiabenzene 78 was also confirmed by chemical evidence as shown in Scheme 10. Protonation of 78a (R1 = R2 = Me) with 70% perchloric acid yielded the corresponding cyclic amino sulfonium salt 82a in 87% yield, but not the starting sulfonium compound 76a, suggesting predominance of sulfilimine structure 78a rather than cyclic sulfonium ylide stmcture 80a. Thus, compound 78 could be recognized as the first example of a 1,2-azathiabenzene having sulfur at a bridgehead position. A proposed mechanism for the formation of 78 and 79 is shown in Scheme 9. The most acidic proton adjacent to sulfur in 76 is deprotonated with... 

The 1 R,6R,7R,8S-as-fused structure and conformation of 102 were elucidated on the basis of their NMR spectroscopic data. The observed formation of only one sulfonium salt in this cyclization reaction was remarkable in that either sulfur atom might have been expected to participate in tosylate displacement. The H NMR spectrum of salt 102 shows a large three-bond scalar coupling of 10.6 Hz between H-6 (5 = 4.736) and H-7 (5 = 4.606) this indicates that they have an almost antiperiplanar relationship. The equatorial orientation of H-6 and the 3C6 conformation of its six-membered cycle are consistent with the strong NOEs observed between H-7 and both H-2axja and and... 

Direct oxidation of bis-sulfides by trifluoromethanesulfonic anhydride was suggested only recently.57 For example, treatment of 10 with triflic anhydride affords the corresponding dication salt 34 in high yield via intermediate formation of a sulfonyl sulfonium salt 33.58 A number of other cyclic and acyclic bis-sulfides 35 undergo facile oxidation to dications under these conditions (Scheme ll).57... 

An interesting way to generate telluronium dications involves electron transfer through a 71-conjugated system to a spatially remote sulfoxide sulfur atom in a domino manner. Treatment of substrate 141 with triflic anhydride results in reduction of the terminal sulfoxide group with simultaneous oxidation of the tellurium atom in the para-position and formation of a trichalcogen dicationic moiety 144143 through the intermediate sulfonium salt 142 and quinoid structure 143 (Scheme 52). 

Ajoene (Spanish, ajo, garlic), 4,5,9-trithiadodeca-l,6,ll-triene-9-oxide 35 (Scheme 12), an antithrombotic compound with other well-defined physiological properties, is formed from allicin.84 Like allicin, ajoene is a sulfoxide but has two further sulfur atoms in a disulfide linkage. E and Z isomeric forms are possible involving the C=C bond at positions 6 and 7. Ajoene is somewhat more stable than allicin. The formation of ajoene probably involves condensation of 2 molecules of allicin forming a sulfonium salt 33, with elimination of propenesulfenic acid. Elimination of a second molecule of propenesulfenic acid... 

In simple terms, the global sulfur cycle has two components. One is biochemical involving the conversion of sulfate to sulfide and the formation of DMS the other is atmospheric photochemical oxidation of DMS to sulfur oxyacids. DMS is formed mainly in the oceans by microorganisms and to a lesser extent in plants. About 38M0 Tg year-1 of DMS are released to the atmosphere from the oceans. The major precursor for DMS formation is the sulfonium salt, dimethylsulfoniopropionate, (CH3)2 S+ CH2 CH2 COOH, DMSP. DMSP lyase enzymes catalyze an elimination of acrylic acid from DMSP (Equation 12) with the release of DMS ... 

The Cu(I)-catalyzed cyclization for the formation of ethyl ( )-tetrahydro-4-methylene-2-phenyl-3-(phenylsulfonyl)furan-3-carboxylate 82 has been accomplished starting from propargyl alcohol and ethyl 2-phenylsulfonyl cinnamate. Upon treatment with Pd(0) and phenylvinyl zinc chloride as shown in the following scheme, the methylenetetrahydrofuran 82 can be converted to a 2,3,4-trisubstituted 2,5-dihydrofuran. In this manner, a number of substituents (aryl, vinyl and alkyl) can be introduced to C4 <00EJO1711>. Moderate yields of 2-(a-substituted N-tosyIaminomethyl)-2,5-dihydrofurans can be realized when N-tosylimines are treated with a 4-hydroxy-cis-butenyl arsonium salt or a sulfonium salt in the presence of KOH in acetonitrile. The mechanism is believed to involve a new ylide cyclization process <00T2967>. 

One procedure for the synthesis of these title ring systems appeared recently <2003S1079>. Yadav and Kapoor described that the transformation of some oxadiazole and thiadiazole derivatives bearing specially substituted methylsulfinyl side chain 131, when reacted with thionyl chloride, give ring-closed compounds 134. The reaction was carried out in pyridine under reflux conditions in 74-79% yield. As shown in Scheme 25, the authors assume that the first step is the formation of the sulfonium salt 132 which undergoes cyclization with hydrogen chloride and sulfur dioxide elimination to 133 and, finally, demethylation of this intermediate leads to the final product 134. 

Nitrogen tetroxide also causes rapid racemization of sulfoxides however, the reaction takes place without decomposition (279,280). This process is initiated by the formation of a sulfonium salt, which then undergoes partial ionization to form a dication intermediate. 

As an analogous example, the behavior of sulfonium salts can be mentioned. At mercury electrodes, sulfonium salts bearing trialkyl (Colichman and Love 1953) or triaryl (Matsuo 1958) fragments can be reduced, with the formation of sulfur-centered radicals. These radicals are adsorbed on the mercury surface. After this, carboradicals are eliminated. The carboradicals capture one more electron and transform into carbanions. This is the final stage of reduction. The mercury surface cooperates with both the successive one-electron steps (Scheme 2.23 Luettringhaus and Machatzke 1964). This scheme is important for the problem of hidden adsorption, but it cannot be generalized in terms of stepwise versus concerted mechanism of dissociative electron transfer. As shown, the reduction of some sulfonium salts does follow the stepwise mechanism, but others are reduced according to the concerted mechanism (Andrieux et al. 1994). 

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