Copper-catalyzed selective construction of vinyl sulfones employing TosMIC as a C1 synthon and sulfone source

A novel strategy for the selective synthesis of (E)-vinyl sulfone derivatives from p-tosylmethyl isocyanide (TosMIC) and ortho-substituted benzaldehydes has been established. The CuO/O2 system plays an important catalytic role in the efficient construction of vinyl sulfones. TosMIC is employed as both a C1 synthon and a sulfonyl source under the catalysis of CuO, unlocking a new reactivity of TosMIC. Furthermore, the gram-scale reaction and late-stage derivatizations demonstrate the significant synthetic applications of this methodology. A novel strategy for the selective synthesis of (E)-vinyl sulfone derivatives from p-tosylmethyl isocyanide (TosMIC) and ortho-substituted benzaldehydes has been established.