Sulfonamides and lipids are widely found in natural products, bioactive substances, and pharmaceuticals. Here, we report N-sulfonylation and esterification of carboxylic acids in an environment-friendly one-pot tandem protocol involving 1,2-dichloroethane (DCE). Moreover, 1,8-diazabicyclo (5.4.0) undec-7-ene was necessary for this reaction as a strong base, which drives the reaction to completion. Although DCE is a very low activity reagent, it acts not only as a solvent but also as a reactant in the reaction. The β-chloroester contained in the reaction product can be easily dissociated to react with N, S, and O atoms, increasing the possibility for subsequent synthesis.
© 2021 The Authors. Published by American Chemical Society.