Sulfonyl halides reacting with alcohols

In aqueous solvents chlorine and bromine react with thiols to give sulfonyl halides or sulfonic acids (equations 8 and 9), while under anhydrous conditions various reactions occur to give sulfonyl halides (RSX), RSX3 and/or disulfides.On the contrary, oxidation with iodine is prone to give disulfides (equation 10) typically using a solution of I2 in acetic acid, alcohol, ether or aqueous Under... 

Esters of aliphatic and aromatic sulfonic acids are conveniently prepared in high yields from alcohols and sulfonyl halides. A basic medium is required. By substituting sodium butoxide for sodium hydroxide in butanol, the yield of n-butyl p-toluenesulfonate is increased from 54% to 98%. Ethyl benzenesulfonate and nuclear-substituted derivatives carrying bromo, methoxyl, and nirro groups are prepared from the corresponding sulfonyl chlorides by treatment with sodium ethoxide in absolute ethanol the yields are 74-81%. Pyridine is by far the most popular basic medium for this reaction. Alcohols (C -Cjj) react at 0-10° in 80-90% yields, and various phenols can be converted to aryl sulfonates in this base. "... 

Sulfonic esters are most frequently prepared by treatment of the corresponding sulfonyl halides with alcohols in the presence of a base. This procedure is the most common method for the conversion of alcohols to tosylates, brosylates, and similar sulfonic esters. Both R and R may be alkyl or aryl. The base is often pyridine, which functions as a nucleophilic catalyst, as in the similar alcoholysis of carboxylic acyl halides (16-61). Propylenediamines have also been used to facilitate tosylation of an alcohol. Silver oxide has been used, in conjunction with KI. Primary alcohols react the most rapidly, and it is often possible to sulfonate selectively a primary OH group in a molecule that also contains secondary or tertiary OH groups. The reaction with sulfonamides has been much less frequently used and is limited to A,A-disubstituted sulfonamides that is, R— may not be hydrogen. However, within these limits it is a useful reaction. The nucleophile in this case is actually RO . However, R may be hydrogen (as well as alkyl) if the nucleophile is a phenol, so that the product is RS020Ar. Acidic catalysts are used in this case. Sulfonic acids have been converted directly to sulfonates by treatment with triethyl or trimethyl orthoformate, HC(OR)3, without catalyst or solvent and with a trialkyl phosphite, P(OR)3. ... 

Another way an alcohol can be activated for subsequent reaction with a nucleophile, besides being converted into an alkyl halide, is to be converted into a sulfonate ester. A sulfonate ester is formed when an alcohol reacts with a sulfonyl chloride. 

Acyl halides, sulfonyl halides, and anhydrides react readily with water, alcohols, and amines. They should neva-be allowed to come into contact with waste that contains such substances. Most compounds in this class can be hydrolyzed to water-soluble products of low toxicity. 

The alkoxydi(sulfonyl)methane shown in Scheme 128 (entry b) has been used as a useful carbonyl 1,1-dipole synthon ( C°-0). Its alkylation with alkyl halides is best achieved using CS2CO3 in DMF at 50 °C, and its palladium-catalyzed allylation requires the use of phase-transfer conditions (Scheme 128, entry b). The unmasking of the carbonyl group was then achieved by reacting the resulting disulfone with boron trichloride (-78 C, CH2CI2) followed by the addition of alcohols or amines to provide esters or amides respectively (Scheme 128, entry b). ... 

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