Synthesis of sulfilimines via electron donor−acceptor complexes

Sulfur-containing compounds have broad application prospects in chemical biology and medicinal chemistry. Herein we reported a Cu-catalyzed sulfilimine synthesis via arylation, alkylation and alkenylation of sulfenamides using readily accessible thianthrenium salts. The protocols allow a universal modular late-stage sulfilimination of highly functionalized molecules, and the sulfilimine motif can be easily transformed to sulfoximine and sulfodiimine derivatives. Mechanistic studies suggest that the bifunctional Cu catalyst plays an important role in the reaction, which facilitates both the EDA association and the C-S coupling