Base-promoted synthesis of β-keto sulfones from N-acyl pyrroles and allyl sulfones

Abstract

An efficient method has been developed for the direct transformation of allyl sulfones to β-keto sulfones by their reaction with N-acyl pyrroles under transition-metal-free conditions. A broad range of β-keto sulfones were prepared readily using equivalent N-acyl pyrroles and allyl sulfones under basic conditions. Unlike other reported methods for synthesizing these synthetically and biologically relevant structures, the approach described here requires neither light nor metal catalysts, and it offers ease of operation along with excellent compatibility with various functional groups. Notably, this study used allyl sulfones as an attractive sulfur source, owing to their ease of handling, greater stability and improved environmental friendliness compared with previously reported sulfonylation reagents.