General Synthesis of Alkenyl Sulfides by Palladium-Catalyzed Thioetherification of Alkenyl Halides and Tosylates

The cross-coupling reaction of alkenyl bromides with thiols catalyzed by palladium complexes derived from inexpensive dppf ligand is reported. These reactions occur under low catalyst loading and in high yields and display wide scope, including the coupling of bulky thiols and trisubstituted bromoolefins, and functional group tolerance. In addition, the thioetherification of less reactive chloroalkenes and, for the first time, alkenyl tosylates was accomplished using a catalyst generated from CyPFtBu alkylbisphosphine ligand.