Tandem reactions sulfone addition-alkylation

By analogy with the catalytic allylic alkylation performed with C-nucleo-philes described in Section 7.2.2.3, Plietker et al. used benzyl mercaptan as an S-nucleophile toward an isobutyl carbonate in the presence of an NHC-Fe complex 9. Allylic thioethers were obtained in 82% yield as a mixture of two regioisomers [eqn (7.7)]. The same group also investigated the sulfonylation of allylic carbonates with a-sulfonyl succinimides as S-nucleop-hiles. In this case, a base-free catalytic system generated in situ by thermal release of the SIMes carbene from its chloroform adduct in the presence of [Bu4N][Fe(CO)3(NO)] was adopted. Addition of DBU to the reaction mixtures allowed the one-pot synthesis of vinyl sulfones through a tandem iron-catalysed allylic sulfonylation/amine-catalysed isomerisation process. Remarkably, base-induced decomposition of the iron catalyst was not observed. 

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