Sulfur ring-opening

The reactions of sulfide ion and polysulfide ions with sulfur are perhaps the most important reactions that elemental sulfurs imdergo. Most likely all useful synthetic reactions of sulfur in basic media have the rather stable sulfur ring opened to provide the much more reactive polythio chain compounds. These linear polysulfides undergo nucleophilic displacement reactions at much faster rates than Ss. The long-chain polythio compounds also undergo homolysis reactions much more readily than Sg. Pryor (1962) has pointed this out and emphasized ionic catalysis of free radical formation. This principle is very reasonable. Hodgson et al. (1963) has evidence of catalysis of free radical formation. 

The stmcture of the ketones produced from unsymmetrical internal perfluoroepoxides has been reported (5). The epoxide ring may also be opened by strong protic acids such as fluorosulfonic acid or hydrogen fluoride at elevated temperatures (23—25). The ring opening of HFPO by sulfur trioxide at 150°C has been interpreted as an example of an electrophilic reaction (26) (eq. 3). 

Currently, the commercially important methods of preparations of perfluorkiated sulfonic acid derivatives are electrochemical fluotination and sulfur trioxide addition to tetrafluoroethylene with subsequent ring opening. 

The first phosphazene polymers containing carbon (79), sulfur (80,81), and even metal atoms (82) in the backbone have been reported. These were all prepared by the ring-opening polymerization of partially or fully chloro-substituted (or fluoro-substituted) trimers containing one hetero atom substituting for a ring-phosphoms atom in a cyclotriphosphazene-type ring. 

Carbenes of type (113), generated by thermal decomposition of the appropriate tosyl-hydrazone salts, undergo ring opening more readily when the ring heteroatom is oxygen rather than when it is sulfur (78JA7927). 

Very little is known about nucleophilic attack on an unsubstituted carbon atom of pyrazoles and their aromatic derivatives (pyrazolones, pyrazolium ions). The SwAr reaction of halogenopyrazoles will be discussed in Section 4.04.2.3.7. Sulfur nucleophiles do not attack the ring carbon atoms of pyrazolium salts but instead the substituent carbon linked to nitrogen with concomitant dequaternization (Section 4.04.2.3.lO(ii)). The ring opening of pyrazolium salts by hydroxide ion occurs only if carbon C-3 is unsubstituted the exact mechanism is unknown and perhaps involves an initial attack of OH on C-3. 

In contrast reaction with aprotic nucleophiles, e.g. alkoxides, LiAlILt and sulfur ylides (Z ), yields amino acid derivatives (341), resulting from sp C—N bond scission. The third possible way of ring opening, namely at the C—C bond, has also been observed in certain cases, i.e. (342) -> (343) (67TL5033). 

S-Substituted thiiranium ions react with water and alcohols to give trans ring opening (Scheme 72). A report that oxygen nucleophiles attack sulfur as well as carbon has been shown to be incorrect (79ACR282). The intermediate thiiranium ion (57) in the presence of lithium perchlorate readily yields the carbenium ion which undergoes a transannular hydride... 

Thiirane 1-oxide undergoes acid-catalyzed ring opening by ethanethiol to give ethyl 2-ethylthioethyl disulfide. Treatment of thiirane 1,1-dioxide with thiolate anions, sodium sulfide or thiourea gives /3-mercaptosulfinic acid derivatives (75S55). Thiiranium ions are attacked at carbon by most sulfur nucleophiles (79ACR282), but see Section 5.06.3.4.3 for exceptions. 

When 6-diazopenicillanates are irradiated in the presence of sulfur nucleophiles, predominantly 6/3-substitution products are obtained (77JOC2224). When BFs-EtiO is used to catalyze the reaction with nucleophiles, however, the products are primarily the 6a-isomers (78TL995). The use of rhodium or copper catalysis led primarily to ring-opened thiazepine products, presumably by way of the intermediate (56 Scheme 39) (80CC798). 

Ester functions are not saponified under these ring opening conditions. However, a trans-a-acetoxy function hinders the epoxide opening reaction and a noticeable decrease in yield is observed in comparison to the cw-a-acetoxy isomer. The ring opening reaction is also dependent on the concentration of sulfuric acid. Polymer formation results when the acid concentration is too low and the reaction is markedly slower with excessive concentrations of acid. A 0.5% (vol./vol.) concentration of acid in DMSO is satisfactory. Ring opening does not occur when ethanol, acetone, or dioxane are used as solvent. 

The ring system 13.18 (R = Cl) is a source of hybrid PN/SN polymers containing three-coordinate sulfur via a ring-opening polymerization process. This polymerization occurs upon mild thermolysis at 90°C (Section 14.4)." ... 

Tlie thermal reaction of dithiiranes is of particular interest in relation with the dithiirane/thioketone 5-sulfide manifold. Heating 5-oxodithiiranes (4) in solution led to both isomerization to 6,7-dithia-8-oxabicyclo[3.2.1]-octanes 74 and desulfurization to 5-oxothiones 75, the ratio of which was dependent on the reaction conditions employed. The intramolecular [3 + 2] cycloaddition of the thioketone 5-sulfide 76, generated by ring-opening, provides a straightforward explanation for the formation of 74. Meanwhile, 75 is probably formed by a nucleophilic attack on the sulfur atom by another molecule of 4 and/or by elemental sulfur formed during the reaction. 

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