Disulfides as efficient thiolating reagents enabling selective bis-sulfenylation of aryl dihalides under mild copper-catalyzed conditions

Abstract

Selective bis-sulfenylation reactions of aryl dihalides have been achieved by copper-catalyzed C–S coupling reactions under mild conditions of refluxing EtOH (80 °C). Employment of disulfides as thiolating reagents enables the production of various bis(phenylthio)benzenes with excellent selectivity, and no products from mono C–S coupling are isolated.