Using sulfonium salts

Dai and co-workers, who used sulfonium salt 34 in epoxidation reactions to give glycidic amides (Scheme 1.15) [23]. 

Zhang, S. Marshall, D. Liebeskind, L. S. Efficient Pd-catalyzed heterobenzylic crosscoupling using sulfonium salts as substrates and P(OPh)3 as a supporting ligand./. Org. Chem. 1999, 64, 2796-2804. 

Scheme 6.1.22. Cleavage then Suzuki coupling using sulfonium salts.

Kanazawa et al. also created a biocide using sulfonium salts as cationic pendants (C6). The polymers were also tested against cultures of E. coli and S. aureus. As above, bactericidal activity was measured in sterile water rather than culture media. The most active of these compounds killed all S. aureus at 34g.M, but the polymers had little effect against E. coli. Activity was similar to the above polymers, and also increased with increasing MW. 

Scheme 39. Cleavage Suzuki coupling approach using sulfonium salts.t ...

Two efficient syntheses of strained cyclophanes indicate the synthetic potential of allyl or benzyl sulfide intermediates, in which the combined nucleophilicity and redox activity of the sulfur atom can be used. The dibenzylic sulfides from xylylene dihalides and -dithiols can be methylated with dimethoxycarbenium tetrafiuoroborate (H. Meerwein, 1960 R.F. Borch, 1968, 1969 from trimethyl orthoformate and BFj, 3 4). The sulfonium salts are deprotonated and rearrange to methyl sulfides (Stevens rearrangement). Repeated methylation and Hofmann elimination yields double bonds (R.H. Mitchell, 1974). 

Allylic amine is a less reactive leaving group[7], but the allylic ammonium salts 214 (quaternary ammonium salts) can be used for allylalion(l30,131]. Allylic sulfonium salts are also used for the allylation[130]. The allylic nitrile in the cyclic aminonitrile 215 can be displaced probably via x-allylic complex formation. The possibility of the formation of the dihydropyridinium salts 216 and subsequent conjugate addition are less likelyfl 32],... 

Photopolymerization reactions are widely used for printing and photoresist appHcations (55). Spectral sensitization of cationic polymerization has utilized electron transfer from heteroaromatics, ketones, or dyes to initiators like iodonium or sulfonium salts (60). However, sensitized free-radical polymerization has been the main technology of choice (55). Spectral sensitizers over the wavelength region 300—700 nm are effective. AcryUc monomer polymerization, for example, is sensitized by xanthene, thiazine, acridine, cyanine, and merocyanine dyes. The required free-radical formation via these dyes may be achieved by hydrogen atom-transfer, electron-transfer, or exciplex formation with other initiator components of the photopolymer system. 

Poly(arylene vinylenes). The use of the soluble precursor route has been successful in the case of poly(arylene vinylenes), both those containing ben2enoid and heteroaromatic species as the aryl groups. The simplest member of this family is poly(p-phenylene vinylene) [26009-24-5] (PPV). High molecular weight PPV is prepared via a soluble precursor route (99—105). The method involves the synthesis of the bis-sulfonium salt from /)-dichloromethylbenzene, followed by a sodium hydroxide elimination polymerization reaction at 0°C to produce an aqueous solution of a polyelectrolyte precursor polymer (11). This polyelectrolyte is then processed into films, foams, and fibers, and converted to PPV thermally (eq. 8). 

Several variations of the Feist-Benary reaction furnish substituted furans as products. The following three examples provide synthetically useful alternatives to the standard reaction conditions. One method is based on the reaction of a sulfonium salt with a P-dicarbonyl compound. For example, reaction of acetylacetone (39) with sulfonium salt 38 in the presence of sodium ethoxide yields 81% of trisubstituted furan 40. This strategy provides a flexible method for the preparation of 2,3,4-trisubstituted furans. 

When bromoacetyl chloride is used instead of bromoacetic acid, the anilide 33 is formed at the first stage. Its subsequent cyclization also leads to 32. This approach to benzotellurazinone is similar to that developed for the synthesis of 2//-l,4-benzothiazin-3(4//)-ones (66CJC1247). Significantly, attempts to isolate the intermediate sulfonium salts analogous to 30 were unsuccessful. 

The ionic species 5, as well as 6, represent the so-called activated dimethyl sulfoxide. Variants using reagents other than oxalyl chloride for the activation of DMSO are known. In the reaction with an alcohol 1, species 5, as well as 6, leads to the formation of a sulfonium salt 7 ... 

Upon addition of a base—triethylamine is often used—the sulfonium salt 7 is deprotonated to give a sulfonium ylide 8. The latter decomposes into the carbonyl compound 2 and dimethyl sulfide 9 through /3-elimination via a cyclic transition state. 

In a pioneering article, Farrall et al. [61] reported the preparation of fuUy regenerable sulfonium salts anchored to an insoluble polymer and their use in the preparation of epoxides by reaction of their ylides with carbonyl compounds. Their results clearly indicate that... 

Previously, the same author [52] reported that compounds containing the tricoordinated sulfur cation, such as the triphenylsulfonium salt, worked as effective initiators in the free radical polymerization of MMA and styrene [52]. Because of the structural similarity of sulfonium salt and ylide, diphenyloxosulfonium bis-(me-thoxycarbonyl) methylide (POSY) (Scheme 28), which contains a tetracoordinated sulfur cation, was used as a photoinitiator by Kondo et al. [63] for the polymerization of MMA and styrene. The photopolymerization was carried out with a high-pressure mercury lamp the orders of reaction with respect to [POSY] and [MMA] were 0.5 and 1.0, respectively, as expected for radical polymerization. 

Solladie-Cavallo s group used Eliel s oxathiane 1 (derived from pulegone) in asymmetric epoxidation (Scheme 1.3) [1]. This sulfide was initially benzylated to form a single diastereomer of the sulfonium salt 2. Epoxidation was then carried out at low temperature with the aid of sodium hydride to furnish diaryl epoxides 3 with high enantioselectivities, and with recovery of the chiral sulfide 1. 

Until this work, the reactions between the benzyl sulfonium ylide and ketones to give trisubstituted epoxides had not previously been used in asymmetric sulfur ylide-mediated epoxidation. It was found that good selectivities were obtained with cyclic ketones (Entry 6), but lower diastereo- and enantioselectivities resulted with acyclic ketones (Entries 7 and 8), which still remain challenging substrates for sulfur ylide-mediated epoxidation. In addition they showed that aryl-vinyl epoxides could also be synthesized with the aid of a,P-unsaturated sulfonium salts lOa-b (Scheme 1.4). 

Solladie-Cavallo has recently reported a two-step asymmetric synthesis of dis-ubstituted N-tosylaziridines from (R,R,R,Ss)-(-)-sulfonium salt 2 (derived from Eliel s oxathiane see Section 1.2.1.1) and N-tosyl imines with use of phosphazine base (EtP2) to generate the ylide (Scheme 1.42) [67], Although the diastereoselectiv-ity was highly substrate-dependent, the enantioselectivities obtained were very high (98.7-99.9%). The chiral auxiliary, although used in stoichiometric quantities, could be isolated and reused, but the practicality and scope of this procedure is limited by the use of the strong - as well as expensive and sensitive - phospha-zene base. 

It is well known that aziridination with allylic ylides is difficult, due to the low reactivity of imines - relative to carbonyl compounds - towards ylide attack, although imines do react with highly reactive sulfur ylides such as Me2S+-CH2-. Dai and coworkers found aziridination with allylic ylides to be possible when the activated imines 22 were treated with allylic sulfonium salts 23 under phase-transfer conditions (Scheme 2.8) [15]. Although the stereoselectivities of the reaction were low, this was the first example of efficient preparation of vinylaziridines by an ylide route. Similar results were obtained with use of arsonium or telluronium salts [16]. The stereoselectivity of aziridination was improved by use of imines activated by a phosphinoyl group [17]. The same group also reported a catalytic sulfonium ylide-mediated aziridination to produce (2-phenylvinyl)aziridines, by treatment of arylsulfonylimines with cinnamyl bromide in the presence of solid K2C03 and catalytic dimethyl sulfide in MeCN [18]. Recently, the synthesis of 3-alkyl-2-vinyl-aziridines by extension of Dai s work was reported [19]. 

Alkyl halides, treated with thioethers, give sulfonium salts. Other leaving groups have also been used for this purpose. ... 

Thia-[2,3]-Wittig sigmatropic rearrangement of lithiated carbanions 47, obtained by deprotonation of the S-allylic sulfides 46, affords the thiols 48 or their alkylated derivatives 49. The corresponding sulfonium ylides 51, prepared by deprotonation of the sulfonium salts 50 also undergoes a [2,3]-sigmatropic shift leading to the same sulfides 49 [36,38] (Scheme 13). As far as stereochemistry is concerned, with crotyl (R R =H,R =Me) and cinnamyl (R, R =H,R =Ph) derivatives, it has been shown that the diastereoselectivity depends on the nature of the R substituent and on the use of a carbanion or an ylide as intermediate. 

Sulfur ylides have several applications as reagents in synthesis.282 Dimethylsul-fonium methylide and dimethylsulfoxonium methylide are particularly useful.283 These sulfur ylides are prepared by deprotonation of the corresponding sulfonium salts, both of which are commercially available. 

The dansyl derivative 9-azidononyl-5-(dimethylamino)naphthalene-l-sulfonate 35 was used by Yi and collaborators [91] as an azido-fluorescent label in a tandem method of sulfonium alkylation and click chemistry for the modification of biomolecules. Fluorescent labeling of a protein was successfully carried out after simple incubation of BSA with sulfonium salt 36 followed by azido-containing fluorophore 35, at room temperature. 

Sulfur ylides are a classic reagent for the conversion of carbonyl compounds to epoxides. Chiral camphor-derived sulfur ylides have been used in the enantioselective synthesis of epoxy-amides <06JA2105>. Reaction of sulfonium salt 12 with an aldehyde and base provides the epoxide 13 in generally excellent yields. While the yield of the reaction was quite good across a variety of R groups, the enantioselectivity was variable. For example benzaldehyde provides 13 (R = Ph) in 97% ee while isobutyraldehyde provides 13 (R = i-Pr) with only 10% ee. These epoxy amides could be converted to a number of epoxide-opened... 

One of the most remarkable recent extensions of the chemistry of aurated ylides was the multiauration of dimethyl(oxo)sulfonium methylide using trimethyl(oxo)sulfonium salts and (Ph3P)Au(acac) in different... 

The development of new classes of cationic photoinitiators has played a critical role in the production of highly sensitive, acid-catalyzed deep-uv photoresists. Sulfonium salts have been widely used in this respect (4). These materials are relatively easy to prepare and structural modifications can be used to produce desired wavelength sensitivity. Triphenylsulfonium salts are particularly well suited for deep-uv application and in addition can be photosensitized for longer wavelength. These salts are quite stable thermally and certain ones such as the hexafluoroantimonate salt are soluble in casting solvents and thus easily incorporated within resist materials. 

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