Thiochromanone oxides

The photochemistry of thiochromanone 1-oxides has been examined (76CJC455) the principal pathways are /3-hydrogen abstraction with readdition of the sulfinic acid to the alkene (equation 39), and rearrangement to cyclic sulfinates followed by homolysis of the S—O bond. 

Oxidation of thiochromones does not lead to the sulfoxide or sulfone derivatives these are better prepared from the corresponding thiochromanones by oxidation followed by bromination and dehydrobromination. The 1-oxide is an extremely reactive species and gives a Diels-Alder adduct with butadiene. The 1,1-dioxide is also very reactive. Photolysis in benzene affords a 2 1 adduct in 30% yield (116) (79TL1097) via an initial [2 + 2] addition followed by a Diels-Alder reaction. Simple [2 + 2] addition is found with cyclohexene. 

E)-3-Arylidenethiochroman-4-oncs possess thioether and oi,[)-unsaturatcd ketone functionalities both of which are susceptible to oxidation by DMD. In fact, chemoselective oxidation at sulfur is observed with a separable mixture of the sulfoxide and sulfone being produced in >5 1 ratio. A similar situation holds for the related thioflavanones. Epoxidation of the alkenic double bond in the thiochromanone 1,1-dioxides alone can be achieved using methyl(trifluoromethyl)-dioxirane (Scheme 65) <1994T13113>. However, reaction of NaOCl with 3-arylidenethioflavanones gives the epoxide and subsequent oxidation with DMD then gives a mixture of the sulfoxide and sulfone <2003MRC193>. 

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