Water-Mediated Intramolecular Cyclization/Oxidation of α-Carbonyl Sulfur Ylides: Synthesis of Corey-Chaykovsky Reagent Type Heterocycles

Halide-promoted pyridinylation of α-acylmethylides with 2-halo-1-methylpyridinium iodides as reagents

Halide-promoted pyridinylation between α-acyl sulfonylmethylides and 2-halo-1-methylpyridinium iodides in a transition-metal-free protocol is described. A broad range of α-acyl sulfonylmethylides were transformed to bifunctionalized vinylsulfones in moderate to good yields, thereby providing a facile and practical approach for constructing methylthio- and pyridinoxyl-substituted vinylsulfones. The substrates can be extended to other acyl methylides. The reaction was shown to entail the formation of a C-O bond and consecutive breaking of C-S, C-Cl and C-N bonds.

Water-mediated radical C-H tosylation of alkenes with tosyl cyanide

The water-mediated tosylation of alkenes with tosyl cyanide was discovered. Experimental investigations revealed that the reaction was initiated by the in situ formation of sulfinyl sulfone in the presence of water. The sulfinyl sulfone species decomposed to a sulfonyl radical and a sulfinyl radical through homolytic fission. The vinyl sulfone was afforded via sequential addition of the alkene to the sulfonyl radical and the sulfinyl radical, followed by β-elimination of a sulfinyl moiety.

Peculiar Reaction Products and Mechanisms Revisited with Machine Learning-Augmented Computational NMR

DU8ML, a fast and accurate machine learning-augmented density functional theory (DFT) method for computing nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectra, proved effective for high-throughput revision of misassigned natural products. In this paper, we disclose another important aspect of its application: correction of unusual reaction mechanisms originally proposed because of incorrect product structures.

1,1-Difunctionalization of α‑Carbonyl Sulfur Ylides with Thiosulfonates: Synthesis of β-Keto Thiosulfones

1,1-Difunctionalization of α‑carbonyl sulfur ylides and thiosulfonates under simple conditions is disclosed. In this protocol, two new C–S bonds are constructed in a one-step reaction. A series of aliphatic and aromatic β-keto thiosulfones were obtained in moderate to good yields. This reaction probably proceeds through sulfur ylide-involved­ nucleophilic substitution of an ion pair within a solvent cage.

Asymmetric transformations from sulfoxonium ylides

Sulfoxonium ylides are important surrogates for diazo compounds, and their use in industry as safer alternatives has been evaluated during recent years. Beyond the known classical transformations, these ylides have also been used in a surprising plethora of novel and intrinsic chemical reactions, especially in recent years. Bench stability and handling are also an advantage of this class of organosulfur molecules. Despite this, efficient asymmetric transformations, specifically catalytic enantioselective versions, have only recently been reported, and there are specific reasons for this. This perspective article covers this topic from the first studies up to the latest advances, giving personal perspectives and showing the main challenges in this area in the coming years.

One-pot and divergent synthesis of polysubstituted quinolin-2(1H)-ones and oxireno[2,3-c]quinolin-2(1aH,3H,7bH)-ones via sequential Ugi/Knoevenagel condensation/hydrolysis and Ugi/Corey–Chaykovsky epoxidation reactions

A new one-pot and divergent synthesis of multisubstituted quinolin-2(1H)-ones and oxireno[2,3-c]quinolin-2(1aH,3H,7bH)-ones was developed.