A Convenient Procedure for the Reduction of Sulfones to Sulfoxides

Although there have been a relatively large number of publications recently dealing with the reduction of sulfoxides fo sulfides^1,2 there are still very few general procedures for the reduction of sulfones to sulfides and none at all, as far as we are aware, for the reduction of sulfones to sulfoxides. In his paper dealing with the use of diisobutylaluminum hydride (DIBAL-H) for the reduction of sulfones to sulfides, for example, Gardner³ points out the inadequacies of the more readily available lithium aluminum hydride for this reduction. We have developed a two part procedure for reducing sulfones 1 to sulfoxides 2 which fills an important gap in the functional group interconversion of organosulfur compounds, the results of which we now describe.