VICARIOUS NUCLEOPHILIC SUBSTITUTION WITH SULFUR CONTAINING CARBANIONS

Abstract

Carbanions stabilized with sulfur containing substituents are versatile intermedi-ates in organic synthesis. The great value and importance of such carbanions is connected with specific properties of the sulfur atom which is capable to exist in a variety of valent states and to form many functional groups. These various sulfur-containing groups exert different carbanion stabilizing effects and can also serve as leaving groups in nucleophilic substitution or elimination reactions. Taking into account numerous types of sulfur containing functional groups and a variety of reactions they can promote, it is well understandable that reactions of sulfur-containing carbanions have been thoroughly studied and widely exploited in organic synthesis. The reactions of such carbanions with aliphatic electrophilic partners: alkylating agents, carbonyl compounds and Michael acceptors consist a major section of this field and were subject of numerous studies as well as many monographs.¹ Contrary to that, not very much was known about reactions of such carbanions with electrophilic aromatic compounds. Actually, there are only few reports on nitroarylation of sulfur-containing carbanions via replacement of halogen orfho- or para- to the nitro group in halonitrocornpounds.² There are also some reports on the alkylation of nitroarenes and heterocyclic compounds in the reaction with sulfonium3 and sulfoxonium4 ylides, dimethylsulfoxide carbanion,⁵ and dialkyl or alkyl aryl sulfones carbanions.⁶