Metal-free one-pot synthesis of N-arylsulfonamides from nitroarenes and sodium sulfinates in an aqueous medium

Abstract A metal-free one-pot two-step synthesis of sulfonamides from readily available nitroarenes and sodium arylsulfinates in a mixture of methanol and water has been developed. In this procedure, the aryl amines were produced in situ by the reduction of nitroarenes mediated by diboronic acid, and then coupled with sodium arylsulfinates in the presence of iodine. A series of N-arylsulfonamides with various functional groups were obtained in moderate to good yields under the optimal reaction conditions. In addition, this one-pot process is applicable for gram-scale synthesis.