Photoinduced rearrangement of vinyl tosylates to β-ketosulfones

Abstract

We developed a photoinduced radical fragmentation and rearrangement of vinyl tosylates that enables efficient formation of β-ketosulfones. This process is based on the photoinitiated homolysis of vinyl tosylate to release a sulfinyl radical from the tosyl group and the subsequent addition of a sulfinyl radical to another vinyl tosylate to form the desired β-ketosulfones. This simple protocol features a broad scope with both aromatic and aliphatic substrates, convenient reagents and operating systems.