Lewis Base-Catalyzed Trifluoromethylsulfinylation of Allylic Alcohols: Stability-Oriented Divergent Synthesis

Org Lett. 2023 Feb 24;25(7):1066-1071. doi: 10.1021/acs.orglett.2c04243. Epub 2023 Feb 13.

Abstract

A novel strategy is demonstrated for Lewis base-activated trifluoromethylsulfinylation of allylic alcohols. Controllable synthesis of structurally varied allylic trifluoromethanesulfones via sigmatropic rearrangements was performed, and trifluoromethanesulfinate esters were achieved. This metal-free, catalytic divergent transformation features good functional group tolerance and late-stage modification of bioactive molecules. Mechanistic studies suggested that Lewis bases interact with N-(trifluoromethylsulfinyl)phthalimide to generate an ion pair adduct followed by O-trifluoromethylsulfinylation with allylic alcohols.