Visible-light-promoted CO2 oxidative 1,2-thiosulfonylation of styrenes with sodium sulfinates and thiophenols

Visible-light-promoted CO2 oxidative radical reactions in organic synthesis have attracted increasing attention. However, only simple organic compounds via oxidative coupling to dimer products with CO2 as an oxidant have been developed. Herein, we report a CO2 oxidative three-component 1,2-thiosulfonylation of styrenes with sodium sulfinates and thiophenols under visible-light irradiation. CO2 as an oxidant is crucial to this reaction. This strategy does not require extra stoichiometric amounts of reductants. A control experiment shows that the reaction cannot proceed without CO2. This photocatalytic reaction promotes the conversion of CO2 to fuels CO and CH4. Mechanistic studies unveil that the generation of the 1,2-thiosulfonylation product occurs through the key radical CH(R)CH2SO2R2 intermediate. This photocatalytic strategy offers a new way to combine CO2-to-fuel conversion and organic synthesis.

Automated summary

Visible-light-promoted CO2 oxidative radical reactions have gained increasing attention in organic synthesis. However, current methods only result in the formation of dimer products from simple organic compounds using CO2 as an oxidant. In this study, we demonstrate a visible-light-promoted CO2 oxidative three-component 1,2-thiosulfonylation of styrenes with sodium sulfinates and thiophenols. The use of CO2 as an oxidant is crucial, and no extra stoichiometric amounts of reductants are required. Our photocatalytic strategy enables the conversion of CO2 to fuels CO and CH4, offering a new approach to combine CO2-to-fuel conversion and organic synthesis.