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Chemical Science
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amount of fluorosulfate reagent 5a resulted in more amine
alkylated product (13), but did not lead to a significantly better
yield of 10a. In contrast, formation of bis(trifluoroethyl) sulfate
(6a) followed by addition of 9a and 12 led to 90% yield of thiol
alkylated product 10a, and only trace amounts of 13 and
trifluoroethanol (Scheme 5, C). Further increasing the
equivalents of the alkylating reagent led to near quantitative
yield of 10a (>97%). Even when pyrrolidine (14), a more
nucleophilic amine,36 was used in a competition experiment,
trifluoroethyl sulfide 10a was obtained almost exclusively
(Figure 5, D).37
Overall, we have developed a new method for the 1,1-
dihydrofluoroalkylation of thiols using a previously unexplored,
sulfuryl fluoride derived bis(trifluoroethyl) sulfate reagent (6a).
This protocol enables the one-pot activation and thiolation of
1,1-dihydrofluoroalcohols to afford industrially relevant
moieties in high yields, regardless of the sterics or electronics of
the starting thiol. In-situ generated bis(trifluoroethyl) sulfate
(6a) is highly selective for thiols, even in the presence of
unprotected alcohols, carboxylic acids, or amines, allowing for
possible late-stage functionalization. Compared to trifluoro-
ethyl fluorosulfate, the new bis(trifluoroethyl) sulfate reagent
displays superior thiol alkylation chemoselectivity over both
competing amine alkylation and reactivity at the sulfate center.
Efforts to further explore this new class of bis(1,1-
dihydrofluoroalkyl) reagents in the context of other reactions
are currently underway.
DOI: 10.1039/C9SC03570B
P. S. Hanley, R. D. J. Froese, M. J. Jansma, D. C. Bland, M. S.
Sanford J. Am. Chem. Soc., 2017, 139(4), 1452-1455. (c) P. S.
Hanley, M. S. Ober, A. L. Krasovskiy, G. T. Whiteker, W. J.
Kruper, ACS Catal., 2015, 5(9), 5041-5046. (d) J. Dong, K. B.
Sharpless, L. Kwisnek, J. S. Oakdale, V. V. Fokin, Angew. Chem.
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(a) J. Gurgar, J. Baker, V. V. Fokin, Chem. Eur. J., 2019, 25(8),
1906-1909. (b) W. -Y. Fang, H. -L. Qin, J. Org. Chem. 2019,
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For representative examples, see: (a) S. -M. Wang, C. Zhao, X.
Zhang, H. -L. Qin, Org. Biomol. Chem., 2019, 17, 4087-4101.
(b) A. Ishii, M. Yasumoto, U. Koji, JP Pat. 155 248, 2009.
For an early report on the stability of aryl fluorosulfates, see
ref 5a.
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9
A. Ishii, T. Ishimaru, T. Yamazaki, JP Pat. 001 653 A, 2013.
10 While other minor sulfuryl fluoride-derived products have
been observed (see ref 3a), they have only been detected in
<10% yield.
11 When non-fluorinated alcohols are used, the corresponding
alkyl fluorosulfate is highly reactive and leads to numerous
degradation products. The 1,1-dihydrofluoroalkyl group
makes the corresponding fluorosulfate more stable and less
prone to degradation. For a study on the effect of halides
alpha to the electrophilic center of SN2 reactions, see: J. Hine,
W. H. Brader Jr. J. Am. Chem. Soc., 1953, 75(16), 3964 – 3966.
12 Stronger bases, such as KO-tBu and KHMDS, provide
comparable results as DBU. Presumably, this is because more
alkoxide is formed in the reaction, thus accelerating the
conversion of 5a to 6a. For full base optimization, see the
Supplementary Information.
13 D. Granitza, M. Beyermann, H. Wenschuh, H. Haber, L. A.
Carpino, G. A. Truran, M. Bienert, J. Chem. Soc., Chem.
Commun., 1995, 21, 2223–2224.
14 Shreeve et al. synthesized fluorosulfate 5a in two separate
steps using SOCl2 followed by ClF. Fluorosulfate 5a could be
converted to the corresponding bis(trifluoroethyl) sulfate (6a)
by running the reaction under solvent-free conditions using
triethylamine and warming the reaction from -196 °C to room
Conflicts of interest
There are no conflicts to declare.
Acknowledgements
temperature.
No subsequent reactivity studies were
performed on 6a. S. A. Kinkead, R. C. Kumar, J. M. Shreeve, J.
Am. Chem. Soc., 1984, 106(24), 7496–7500.
This work was supported by the University of British Columbia
(UBC), the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council
of Canada (NSERC), the NSERC CREATE Sustainable Synthesis
Program for support for PJF, an NSERC CGSM scholarship for
TGB, and a UBC Work Learn International Undergraduate
Research Award to SSK.
15 For a synthesis of bis(trifluoroethyl) sulfate (6a) from
trifluoroethanol and sulfuryl chloride, see: W. V. Cohen, J.
Org. Chem., 1961, 26(10), 4021–4026.
16 We have previously detected the formation of
bis(trifluoroethyl) sulfate (6a) as a minor byproduct in the
formation of trifluoroethyl fluorosulfate (5a). See ref 3a.
17 While a SciFinder® search indicates that bis(trifluoroethyl)
sulfate (6a) was reported (WO Pat. 066 559, 2000), the
reagent is not mentioned in this patent.
Notes and references
18 For selected reviews on fluoroalkyl sulfides see: (a) S.
Swallow, Prog. Med. Chem., 2015, 54, 65–133. (b) F. Leroux,
P. Jeschke, M. Schlosser, Chem. Rev., 2005, 105(3), 827–856.
19 For selected patents containing trifluoroethyl sulfur
compounds see: (a) A. Adrien EP Kohler, B. Alig, A. Becker, A.
Voerste, U. Gorgens, R. Fischer, W. A. Moradi, S. Cerezo-
Galvez, J. Neumann, K. Ilg, H. -G. Schwarz, T. Gomibuchi, M.
Ito, D. Yamazaki, K. Shibuya, E. Shimojo, WO Pat. 092 350,
2013. (b) F. Setsu, E. -J. Umemura, K. Sasaki, K. Tadauchi, T.
Okutomi, K. Ohtsuka, S. Takahata, WO Pat. 042 188, 2003. (c)
F. Kaiser, S. Gross, J. Langewald, A. Narine, WO Pat. 030 262,
2013. (d) B. Alig, S. Cerezo-Galvez, R. Fischer, A. Koehler, J. J.
Hahn, K. Ilg, P. Loesel, O. Malsam, D. Portz, WO Pat. 004 028,
2015.
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(a) E. E. Kenaga, J. Econ. Entomol., 1957, 50(1), 1–6. (b) J.
Dong, L. Krasnova, M. G. Finn, K. B. Sharpless, Angew. Chem.
Int. Ed., 2014, 53(36), 9430–9448. (c) Dow AgroSciences
Technical Bulletin, “Sulfuryl Fluoride Gas Fumigant,” April
2002.
For a representative review, see: L. Revathi, L. Ravindar, J.
Leng, K. P. Rakesh, H. -L. Qin, Asian J. Org. Chem., 2018, 7(4),
662–682.
For select examples of 1,1-dihydrofluoroalcohol activation,
see: (a) M. Epifanov, P. J. Foth, F. Gu, C. Barrillon, S. S. Kanani,
C. S. Higman, J. E. Hein, G. M. Sammis, J. Am. Chem. Soc., 2018,
140(48), 16464–16468. (b) M. R. Johnson, WO Pat. 124 456,
2014.
For a representative example, see: A. Ishii, T. Yamazaki, M.
Yasumoto, (Central Glass Company, Ltd.). US Pat. 8 426 645B2,
2013.
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20 For the effect of fluoroalkyl moieties on the properties in a
molecule, as well as the importance of fluorine in the
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