Regioselective Thiocarbonylation of Vinyl Arenes

J Am Chem Soc. 2016 Dec 28;138(51):16794-16799. doi: 10.1021/jacs.6b11020. Epub 2016 Dec 14.

Abstract

A palladium-catalyzed thiocarbonylation of styrene derivatives is reported for the first time. The combination of thiols as nucleophiles and a bidentate ligand ensures a unique reaction outcome with high regioselectivity toward the more valuable branched isomer and new reactivity. The ambient reaction conditions (temperature, catalyst loading) and the use of a CO surrogate render this transformation a useful method for the synthesis of thioesters from available feedstock. Various functional groups on arene and thiol substituents are tolerated by the system. Notably, challenging ortho-substituted styrenes are converted with unprecedentedly high regioselectivity.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't