Thiols, aryl halides

Aryl sulfides are prepared by the reaction of aryl halides with thiols and thiophenol in DMSO[675,676] or by the use of phase-transfer catalysis[677]. The alkenyl sulfide 803 is obtained by the reaction of lithium phenyl sulfide (802) with an alkenyl bromide[678]. 

The coupling of thiols with aryl halides has been recently reported using Ni(NHC)2 complexes [171]. After screening different pre-catalysts, compound 28 showed the best behaviour in terms of activity and substrate scope, allowing the coupling of electron rich and poor aryl bromides with aryl or alkyl thiols (Scheme 6.52). 

In 1978 and 1980 the coupling of aryl bromides and iodides with both aliphatic and aromatic thiols was first reported in the presence of NaO-t-Bu and Pd(PPh3)4 (Equation (35)).118,119 In contrast to aryl halide aminations and etherifications, the thiation reactions did not require unusual catalysts. Yet, reactions that form aryl alkyl sulfides from alkyl thiols occurred in modest yields in many cases ... 

Several palladium catalysts for formation of aryl sulfides from aryl halides have been investigated more recently. A combination of Pd2(dba)3 and DPEphos catalyzed the formation of a broad range of diaryl sulfides in the presence of 1 mol.% palladium and NaO-t-Bu base in toluene solvent.12,rThe highest yields of alkyl aryl sulfides were obtained from aryl triflates and n-butyl thiol catalyzed by a combination of palladium acetate and BINAP. However, these reactions contained 10 mol.% catalyst, were long, and required deactivated aryl triflates. A combination of Pd2(dba)3 and DPPF catalyzed the coupling of thiols with resin-bound aryl halides.121... 

The palladium-catalyzed formation of sulfides can generate polyphenylene sulfide from a dithiol and a dibromoarene, or from 4-bromobenzenethiol (Equation (38)).17 In 1984 Asahi Glass obtained patents for the formation of this polymer in the presence of palladium and nickel catalysts.125,126 In addition, Gingras reported palladium-catalyzed couplings of aryl halides and thiols to form discrete phenylene sulfide oligomers.127,128 A number of polyphenylene sulfide wires, ranging from dimeric to pentameric structures, were prepared by the palladium coupling, albeit in modest yields ... 

Although not directly analogous to the coupling of thiols with aryl halides, the reaction of thiourea with an aryl halide in the presence of palladium catalyst, nevertheless, can be used to generate a thiophenol from an aryl halide after hydrolysis (Equation (39)).129 This process occurred in greater than 90% yield with a variety of simple aryl halides ... 

Aryl halide compounds such as fluorobenzene derivatives can be used to form covalent bonds with amine-containing molecules like proteins. The reactivity of aryl halides, however, is not totally specific for amines. Other nucleophiles such as thiol, imidazolyl, and phenolate groups of amino acid side chains also can react (Zahn and Meinhoffer, 1958). Conjugates formed with sulfhydryl groups are reversible by cleaving with an excess of thiol (Shaltiel, 1967). 

Although sodium sulphide reacts readily with haloalkanes [2] and activated aryl halides (see Chapter 2) [e.g. 3-5] in the presence of a quaternary ammonium catalyst to form symmetrical thioethers (Table 4.1), a major side reaction results in the formation of disulphides owing to the oxidation of the intermediate thiols under the basic conditions. Consequently, little use has been made of this procedure for the synthesis of thioethers [3, 6], but the corresponding reaction of the a,(0-dihaloalkanes to yield cyclic thioethers has proved to be a valuable procedure for the synthesis of thietanes [7] (Table 4.2). The ring closure with the secondary dihaloalkanes is considerably more difficult to effect than is the reaction of the primary dihaloalkanes. 1,3-Dihydrobenzo[c]thiophene (89%) is produced in the reaction of 1,2-bis(bromomethyl)benzene with sodium sulphide (Scheme 4.1) [8]. The direct... 

Activated aryl halides react with thiols [e.g. 4] to produce aryl thioethers and thioethers, derived from non-activated aryl halides, can be synthesized via the Cr(CO), complexes of the haloarenes [29] (Scheme 4.2, see also Chapter 2). 

A superior and relatively versatile procedure for the synthesis of unsymmetrical dialkyl thioethers, which avoids the unattractive direct use of thiols, utilizes the stable l-alkylthioethaniminium halides, which are readily obtained from thioacet-amidc [32] (Scheme 4.4). The reaction has also been used for the synthesis of alkyl aryl thioethers from activated aryl halides [33], but it cannot be used for the synthesis of cyclic thioethers, as polymeric sulphides are formed from a,co-dihaloalkanes. A similar sequence to that which leads to the thioethers has been used for the synthesis of S-alkyl thioesters [34] (see 4.1.26). 

Aryl thiols and thioethers can be prepared in reactions similar to 3-1 and 3-4.87 Activated aryl halides generally give good results, but side reactions are occasionally important. Diaryl... 

Support-bound thiols can be alkylated under mild reaction conditions with alkyl halides, a, 3-unsaturated carbonyl compounds, or reactive aryl halides (Table 8.4). These reactions should be conducted under an inert atmosphere or in the presence of a reducing additive to prevent disulfide formation. PEG-bound thiophenol has been S-alkylated under conditions similar to those used in solution (DMF, Cs2C03, 20 °C, 15 h [52-54]). 

The at complex from DIB AH and butyllithium is a selective reducing agent.16 It is used tor the 1,2-reduction of acyclic and cyclic enones. Esters and lactones are reduced at room temperature to alcohols, and at -78 C to alcohols and aldehydes. Acid chlorides are rapidly reduced with excess reagent at -78 C to alcohols, but a mixture of alcohols, aldehydes, and acid chlorides results from use of an equimolar amount of reagent at -78 C. Acid anhydrides are reduced at -78 C to alcohols and carboxylic acids. Carboxylic acids and both primary and secondary amides are inert at room temperature, whereas tertiary amides (as in the present case) are reduced between 0 C and room temperature to aldehydes. The at complex rapidly reduces primary alkyl, benzylic, and allylic bromides, while tertiary alkyl and aryl halides are inert. Epoxides are reduced exclusively to the more highly substituted alcohols. Disulfides lead to thiols, but both sulfoxides and sulfones are inert. Moreover, this at complex from DIBAH and butyllithium is able to reduce ketones selectively in the presence of esters. 

Formation of a symmetrical sulphide (a) (e.g. dipropyl sulphide, Expt 5.204), is conveniently effected by boiling an alkyl halide (the source of carbocations) with sodium sulphide in ethanolic solution. Mixed sulphides (b) are prepared by alkylation of a thiolate salt (a mercaptide) with an alkyl halide (cf. Williamson s ether synthesis, Section 5.6.2, p. 583). In the case of an alkyl aryl sulphide (R-S Ar) where the aromatic ring contains activating nitro groups (see Section 6.5.3, p. 900), the aryl halide is used with the alkyl thiolate salt. The alternative alkylation of a substituted thiophenol is described in Section 8.3.4, p. 1160. The former procedure is illustrated by the preparation of isobutyl 2,4-dinitrophenyl sulphide (Expt 5.205) from l-chloro-2,4-dinitrobenzene and 2-methylpropane-1-thiol. 

The formation of 2-ethylthioethanol (23) involves selective nucleophilic attack by the mercapto (SH) moiety while the hydroxy group remains intact, showing that the former is a more powerful nucleophile. Thiols, as their sodio derivatives, will react with alkyl and even with aryl halides in polar aprotic solvents like DMSO and DMF to give good yields of dialkyl and diaryl sulfides (24) and (25) (Scheme 8). 

Sulfides, or thioethers, are sulfur analogues of ethers, and like ethers they can be either symmetrical (R2S) or unsymmetrical (RSR1, where R and R are different). Sulfides can be prepared from alkyl halides by a Williamson-type synthesis with sodium hydrogen sulfide, sodium thiolate or sodium sulfide from alkyl or aryl halides via the Grignard reagent (11) from alkenes by radical-catalysed addition of thiols or by reduction of sulfoxides (Scheme 9).2b... 

Thiols. Activated benzyl alcohols are converted to the thiols by reaction with thiourea in the presence of HCl, followed by saponification. Substitution of activated aryl halides (e.g., 4-chloropyridine) is accomplished by treatment with thiourea in liquid... 

Synthesis of these simple type of thiol derivatives will be Just briefly discussed here because comprehensive reviews on thiols and their derivatives are available (2, 21 ). The methyl sulfide compounds are most readily obtained by methylation of the corresponding thiol. Nucleophilic substitutions with methane thlolate on alkyl halides and occasionally with aryl halides lead directly to the methyl sulfide product. The syntheses of methyl sulfide and sulfone metabolites of xenoblotlca are summarized In Table IX. 

S-Arylation is common with suitably activated aryl halides <83JHC1287, 84JHC1241>. Ambident anions of imidazole-2-thiol react with a-/7-dinitrocumene under photostimulation by an Srn 1 mechanism leading initially to the 5-aryl product (165). This is followed by a photochemical rearrangement in which homolytic cleavage of the carbon-sulfur bond is followed by recombination of the aryl anion with the ambident heterocyclic radical (Scheme 99) <86H(24)ioi3>. 

---