Photoinduced copper-catalyzed three-component alkylarylation of alkenes involving C–S bond cleavage of sulfonium salts†

We report a novel visible-light-induced copper-catalyzed intermolecular 1,2-alkylarylation of alkenes with cyclic sulfonium salts and nucleophiles via selective C–S bond cleavage for the construction of thioether-containing 1,1-diarylalkanes. In this transformation, the remote aryl-thioether-containing aliphatic alkyl chains and nucleophiles are successively installed into the CC bond of alkenes through a radical relay coupling process in a single operation. Furthermore, the mild reaction conditions allow for good compatibility in the scope of styrenes, sulfonium salts and nucleophiles, as well as bioactive molecules and derivatives.