Extending the playing field for organosulfur: A new way to synthesize sulfonate esters

Schematic of the proposed two-step synthesis route to easily produce a wide variety of sulfinate esters. The use of aryl iodides, which are readily available, is a remarkable advantage. Credit: Suguru Yoshida from Tokyo University of Science

Organosulfur compounds are organic molecules that contain one or more sulfur atoms bonded to carbon atoms. They not only play fundamental roles in biological processes but also have wide applications in many industries, such as pharmaceuticals, agrochemicals, and materials science. Thus, many chemists strive to develop safe and efficient methods to synthesize organosulfurs.

The conventional approach to produce them involves the oxidation of molecules called thiols. However, working with thiols can be quite challenging. They have a strong and unpleasant odor and can be oxidized easily under air, which makes handling and storage difficult. These two issues have limited the availability of thiols with interesting functional groups, also hindering the production of different types of organosulfur. But what if we could produce organosulfurs from less problematic chemicals?

In a recent study published in Organic and Biomolecular Chemistry, a

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