An iron-catalyzed C–S bond-forming reaction of carboxylic acids and hydrocarbons via photo-induced ligand to metal charge transfer†

Sulfur-containing compounds are commonly present in both natural and synthetic bioactive molecules. The ability to construct C–S bonds using inexpensive and easily accessible raw materials under mild conditions is an area of significant interest in organic synthesis. In this study, we introduce a novel photo-induced iron-catalyzed strategy that facilitates the transformation of alkyl and heteroaryl carboxylic acids into their respective thioether products. Furthermore, our method also enables the site-selective synthesis of thioethers and sulfoxides from unreactive hydrocarbons under a reaction atmosphere of N₂ or air. This procedure is operationally simple and readily scalable and provides access to high-value sulfur-containing compounds from simple raw materials in one step.