Thiocarbonyl compounds, stability

In Section III.K we have briefly summarized the major advances in the preparation of thiocarbonyl compounds stabilized by organometallics. The synthetic applications of this kind of reagents have experienced impressive growth in recent years and major contributions will be collected in this section, although the interested reader is referred to specialized Serials on this subject. 

The preparation of thiiranes is most conveniently performed in solution. However, there are also protocols reported for reaction in the gas and solid phase. By using diazo and thiocarbonyl compounds in ether as solvent, both alkyl and aryl substituted thiiranes are accessible. As indicated earlier, aryl substituents destabilize the initially formed 2,5-dihydro-1,3,4-thiadiazole ring and, in general, thiiranes are readily obtained at low temperature (13,15,35). On the other hand, alkyl substituents, especially bulky ones, enhance the stability of the initial cycloadduct, and the formation of thiiranes requires elevated temperatures (36 1,88). Some examples of sterically crowded thiiranes prepared from thioketones and a macro-cyclic diazo compound have been published by Atzmiiller and Vbgtle (106). Diphenyldiazomethane reacts with (arylsulfonyl)isothiocyanates and this is followed by spontaneous N2 elimination to give thiirane-2-imines (60) (107,108). Under similar conditions, acyl-substituted isothiocyanates afforded 2 1-adducts 61 (109) (Scheme 5.23). It seems likely that the formation of 61 involves a thiirane intermediate analogous to 60, which subsequently reacts with a second equivalent... 

The role of electronegativity determines an important difference between the two families. For thiocarbonyl compounds, the contribution is small and barely at the limit of statistical significance. In the case of the carbonyls, the contribution is large and stabilizing. 

Partially and perfluorinated thioketones and thioaldehyde were stabilized as anthracene adducts (70). The adducts (70) were prepared in moderate yield from the corresponding carbonyl compounds with P4S10 or Lawesson s reagent in the presence of anthracene under toluene reflux. The generated thiocarbonyl compounds are not accessible in bulk due to their tendency towards polymerization. By thermolysis of the anthracene adducts (70) in the presence of C,N-bis(triisopropylsilyl)nitrilimine (NI), 1,3,4-thiadiazole derivatives (71) were obtained. Also, 1,3-dipolar cycloaddition with bis(trimethylstannyl)diazomethane (BTSD) to give consecutive products (72) from a 1,2-metallotropic migration of primary adducts was discussed. [95LA95]... 

Thiocarbonyl compounds have recently emerged as synthetic tools with specific properties. Although some thioamides and thioketones were prepared as early as the 19th century, general methods are rather recent. Nowadays most, if not all, thiocarbonyl compounds that one can imagine can be prepared, with techniques adapted to the stabilities of the target molecules. 

The sulfur analogues of enolates have recently received attention in the context of synthetic applications. Thiocarbonyl compounds bear a-protons which are rather acidic. Kresge et al. [120] has shown that their pKas are 10 units less than those of carbonyl compounds. Thus enethiolates are easily formed with a variety of bases, and they exhibit thermal stability [1]. They are ambident nucleophiles and the sulfur vs carbon regiochemistry has been rationalised by Anh [119] using frontier orbital treatment. 

Simple thioaldehydes and thioketones are too unstable to exist and attempts at their preparation lead to appalling smells (Chapter 1). The problem is the poor overlap between the 2sp2 orbital on carbon and the 3sp2 orbital on sulfur as well as the more or less equal electronegativities of the two elements. Stable thiocarbonyl compounds include dithioesters and thioamides where the extra conjugation of the oxygen or nitrogen atom helps to stabilize the weak C-S bond. 

Radical stabilization energies for a wide variety of carbon-centered radicals have been calculated at G3(MP2)-RAD or better level. While the interpretation of these values as the result of substituent effects on radical stability is not without problems, the use of these values in rationalizing radical reactions is straight forward. This is not only true for reactions involving hydrogen atom transfer steps but also for other reactions involving typical elementary reactions such as the addition to alkene double bonds and thiocarbonyl compounds. 

The size difference between carbon and sulfur atoms leads to relatively inefficient overlap of -tr-orbi-tals in the C=S bond. Consequently, thiocarbonyl compounds are in general highly reactive and have a tendency to di-, oligo- or poly-merize. This is particularly true for thioaldehydes, thioketones, and thio-ketenes. In contrast, thioamides (1) are usually perfectly stable and can be handled without problems. This stability can be understood in terms of a pronounced resonance interaction between the C =S TT-bond and the nonbonding electron pair on nitrogen. The analogous electron delocalization prevails in thiolactams. ... 

The common method involves deprotonation of a thiocarbonyl compound and reaction of the intermediate enethiolate with an allyl halide (Scheme 9.8). This actually relies on two noticeable features of the sulfur series. (1) The proton located a to a thiocarbonyl group is much more acidic, by 7-10 pKa units, than the one of a carbonyl moiety [39, 41]. This may be related to the strong ability of the sulfur atom (polarizability) to stabilize the negative charge of the enethiolate. Presently, the preferred conditions involve LDA as a base for optimum deprotonation [42-45]. (2) The resulting anionic species are soft ambident nucleophiles. The... 

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