Synthesis of 2-Aryl-4H-thiochromen-4-one Derivatives via a Cross-Coupling Reaction

A concise and efficient cross-coupling synthetic strategy has been developed to construct 2-aryl-4H-thiochromen-4-one derivatives from 2-sulfinyl-thiochromones and arylboronic acids. This reaction proceeds via a catalyst system of Lewis acid and palladium(II) combined with XPhos as an optimal ligand in moderate to good yields. Besides, this flexible methodology provides a wide scope for the synthesis of different functionally substituted thiochromone scaffolds and can be further exploited to construct diverse thioflavone libraries for pharmaceutical research.