Thionation of esters and lactones with the reagent combination of phosphorus pentasulfide and hexamethyldisiloxane

Abstract The combination of P 4 S 10 and hexamethyldisiloxane converts esters and lactones to thionoesters and thionolactones in yields comparable to or superior to those obtained with Lawesson's reagent. The method has the advantage that reagent-derived byproducts may be removed by a simple hydrolytic workup or by filtration through silica gel, rather than by chromatography, as required for Lawesson's reagent.