Tetrahedron Letters
Potassium iodide-mediated radical arylsulfonylation/1,2-carbon
migration sequences for the synthesis of b-sulfonated cyclic ketones
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Yeon Joo Kim, Mi Hyeon Choo, Dae Young Kim
Department of Chemistry, Soondhunhyang University, Asan, Chungnam 31538, Republic of Korea
a r t i c l e i n f o
a b s t r a c t
Article history:
Potassium iodide-mediated radical sulfonylation/1,2-carbon migration sequences of alkenylcyclobu-
tanols has been developed. The reaction was effectively accelerated using potassium iodide as a catalyst
under mild reaction conditions without other metal oxidant. This approach is environmentally benign by
use of shelf-stable arylsulfonyl hydrazides as arylsulfonyl radical precursor and water as solvent. This
approach offers a facile way to prepare b-sulfonated cyclic ketone derivatives.
Received 12 July 2018
Revised 25 August 2018
Accepted 11 September 2018
Available online xxxx
Ó 2018 Published by Elsevier Ltd.
Keywords:
Sulfonation
1,2-Carbon migration
Radical process
Alkenylcyclobutanols
b-Sulfonated cyclic ketones
The sulfone moiety serves as valuable building blocks for the
synthesis of a large number of biologically active compounds and
pharmaceuticals [1]. Therefore, the development of novel and
practical methods for the installation of sulfonyl group into organic
frameworks has been a subject of intense study [2]. The addition of
sulfonyl radicals to unsaturated carbon-carbon bonds represents a
general route to synthesis of sulfone compounds. Recently, sulfonyl
hydrazides have emerged as valuable sulfonyl radical sources via
various oxidation processes [3]. Compared to other sulfonylation
reagents [4] including sulfonyl halides, sulfinic selenides, and sul-
finates, sulfonyl hydrazides are regarded as favorable sulfonyl rad-
ical precursors due to its stability for air and moisture, high
reactivity, and eco-friendly byproducts. Recently, several groups
reported the syntnesis of b-funtionalized ketones by radical addi-
tion and 1,2-carbon migration sequences of allylic alcohol deriva-
tives with various radicals including acyl, aryl, phosphoryl,
difluoromethyl, trifluoromethyl, and amine radicals [5]. Narasaka
and co-workers reported an oxidative sulfonylation reaction and
pinacol-type rearrangement of 1-vinyl cyclic alcohols with sodium
2-naphthalenesulfinate promoted by cerium (IV) tetrabutylammo-
nium nitrate [6]. However, there are some imperfections to the
previous work, such as narrow substrates scope and use of metal
oxidant. We envisioned the transformation of the alkenylcyclobu-
tanols to the b-sulfonated cyclopentanones by transition
metal-free sulfonylation/1,2-alkyl migration sequence with
sulfonyl hydrazides as sulfonyl radical source.
In connection with our ongoing research program related to
redox reaction and ring closure sequences, we recently reported
the intramolecular redox reaction via C–H bond functionalization
[7] and radical addition reaction to alkenes with several radical
sources under redox conditions [5c–5g]. Herein, we report
potassium iodode catalyzed oxidative sulfonylation and 1,2-alkyl
migration of alkenylcyclobutanol derivatives.
To determine suitable reaction conditions for the catalytic rad-
ical arylsulfonylation/1,2-alkyl migration sequences of alkenylcy-
clobutanol derivatives, we examined the copper-catalyzed radical
arylsulfonylation of 1-(1-phenylvinyl)cyclobutanol (1a) with p-
toluenesulfonyl hydrazide (2a) as arylsulfonyl radical source.
Treatment of 1-(1-phenylvinyl)cyclobutanol (1a) with p-toluene-
sulfonyl hydrazide (2a) and 20 mol % of copper salts in water at
80 °C gave the radical addition/1,2-alkyl migration product 3a in
low yields (Table 1, entries 1–2). Various iodide ion catalysts, such
as tetrabutylammonium iodide (TBAI), sodium iodide, and potas-
sium iodide were screened (Table 1, entries 5–7), potassium iodide
was the most efficient catalyst for this transformation (Table 1,
entry 5). A survey of the reaction media indicated that common
solvents, such as acetonitrile, ethyl acetate, DMF, DMSO, and co-
solvents of acetonitrile and water were also tested, which did not
give improved results (Table 1, entries 6–11). To our delight, the
addition of 18-crown-6 as an additive significantly improved the
yield to 90% (Table 1, entry 12). In the absence of potassium iodide,
no reaction occurred (Table 1, entry 13).
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Corresponding author.
0040-4039/Ó 2018 Published by Elsevier Ltd.