Thiols from aryl halides

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... 

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 ... 

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 ... 

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 ... 

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). 

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. 

Special thiol carboxylic esters (29) were prepared from aroyl halides and arcne thiolates. These 4,4 -disubstituted S-aryl arenecarbothioates might gain importance from a practical point of view, since they exhibit liquid crystal properties and could be useful as components of a display cell. Another thiocarboxylic ester (30), which was obtained from a zinc thiochelate and benzoyl chloride (equation 19), ° might be potentially useful as a precursor for organic conductors. 

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... 

A method of preparing alkanethiols and thiophenols by means of thio-carboxylic acids consists of converting, preferably, thioacetic or thiobenzoic acid by an alkyl (or aryl) halide into an 5-alkyl (or 5-aryl) thiocarboxylate and hydrolysing this by acid or alkali this method, and that described in the following paragraphs, have the advantage that the thiols can be obtained free from sulfide.268... 

Although thiols are generally stronger nucleophiles than alcohols and amines, the sensitivity of sulfides towards oxidation as well as the formation of disulfide made the cross-coupling between aryl halides and thiols difficult. From all previously reported results, it was foimd that only aryl iodides were suitable for this copper-catalyzed coupling process. 

Three substituted 5-phenyl unsymmetrical disulfides have been prepared, i, ii, and iii — compounds i and ii by reaction of a thiol with a sulfenyl halide, compound iii from a thiol and an aryl thiosulfonate (ArS02SAr). The disulfides are cleaved by reduction (NaBH ) or by treatment with excess thiol (HSCH2 CH2OH). 

The procedure outlined above also offers a general method for the synthesis of alkyl and. aryl thiols starting from the appropriate halides. Thus thiophenol may be obtained in 62% yield by lithiation and sulfurization of bromobenzene.8... 

The value of thiourea for the preparation of thiols is that on reaction with alkyl halides,271 mixtures of hydrogen bromide and alcohols,272 or suitable aromatic273 or heterocyclic halides274 it readily yields S-alkyl- or S-aryl-thiouronium salts, from which the thiols are usually obtained in good yield by alkaline hydrolysis or by aminolysis with high-boiling, strongly nucleophilic... 

---