Direct sulfonylation of anilines mediated by visible light

Chem Sci. 2017 Nov 16;9(3):629-633. doi: 10.1039/c7sc03891g. eCollection 2018 Jan 21.

Abstract

Sulfones feature prominently in biologically active molecules and are key functional groups for organic synthesis. We report a mild, photoredox-catalyzed reaction for sulfonylation of aniline derivatives with sulfinate salts, and demonstrate the utility of the method by the late-stage functionalization of drugs. Key features of the method are the straightforward generation of sulfonyl radicals from bench-stable sulfinate salts and the use of simple aniline derivatives as convenient readily available coupling partners.