Issue 12, 2020

A metal-free synthesis of 1,1-diphenylvinylsulfides with thiols via thioetherification under continuous-flow conditions

Abstract

Aggregation-induced emission (AIE) compounds have emerged as an important type of material in a variety of high-tech applications. 1,1-Diphenylvinylsulfides represent a new class of AIE luminogens following the restriction of intramolecular motion (RIM) mechanism. However, synthetic approaches that allow efficient access to such molecules are rather limited owing to the steric hindrance in the multi-aryl substituted ethene skeleton. Herein, we report a new and metal-free C–S bond construction strategy to access 1,1-diphenylvinylsulfides via thioetherification of 1,1-diphenylethenes with thiols under mild conditions. Moreover, the isolated yields were found to be dramatically improved by streamlining the synthesis using a simple continuous-flow setup. With the combined advantages of the new C–H sulfenylation protocol and continuous-flow chemistry, various 1,1-diphenylvinylsulfides were generated in good yields in a less than 50 min residence time without the use of metal catalysts from all easily accessible materials, and a variety of derivatives were easily afforded via post-modifications.

Graphical abstract: A metal-free synthesis of 1,1-diphenylvinylsulfides with thiols via thioetherification under continuous-flow conditions

Supplementary files

Article information

Article type
Research Article
Submitted
12 Apr 2020
Accepted
10 May 2020
First published
11 May 2020

Org. Chem. Front., 2020,7, 1490-1494

A metal-free synthesis of 1,1-diphenylvinylsulfides with thiols via thioetherification under continuous-flow conditions

J. Zhang, E. Wang, Y. Zhou, L. Zhang, M. Chen and X. Lin, Org. Chem. Front., 2020, 7, 1490 DOI: 10.1039/D0QO00432D

To request permission to reproduce material from this article, please go to the Copyright Clearance Center request page.

If you are an author contributing to an RSC publication, you do not need to request permission provided correct acknowledgement is given.

If you are the author of this article, you do not need to request permission to reproduce figures and diagrams provided correct acknowledgement is given. If you want to reproduce the whole article in a third-party publication (excluding your thesis/dissertation for which permission is not required) please go to the Copyright Clearance Center request page.

Read more about how to correctly acknowledge RSC content.

Social activity

Spotlight

Advertisements