Photoredox-catalyzed aminofluorosulfonylation of unactivated olefins

The development of efficient approaches to access sulfonyl fluorides is of great significance because of the widespread applications of these structural motifs in many areas, among which the emerging sulfur(vi) fluoride exchange (SuFEx) click chemistry is the most prominent. Here, we report the first three-component aminofluorosulfonylation of unactivated olefins by merging photoredox-catalyzed proton-coupled electron transfer (PCET) activation with radical relay processes. Various aliphatic sulfonyl fluorides featuring a privileged 5-membered heterocyclic core have been efficiently afforded under mild conditions with good functional group tolerance. The synthetic potential of the sulfonyl fluoride products has been examined by diverse transformations including SuFEx reactions and transition metal-catalyzed cross-coupling reactions. Mechanistic studies demonstrate that amidyl radicals, alkyl radicals and sulfonyl radicals are involved in this difunctionalization transformation.

Automated summary

This study successfully reported the first three-component aminofluorosulfonylation of unactivated olefins by merging photoredox-catalyzed proton-coupled electron transfer (PCET) activation with radical relay processes, efficiently affording various aliphatic sulfonyl fluorides featuring a privileged 5-membered heterocyclic core under mild conditions with good functional group tolerance. The synthetic potential of the sulfonyl fluoride products was examined by diverse transformations including SuFEx reactions and transition metal-catalyzed cross-coupling reactions, with mechanistic studies demonstrating the involvement of amidyl radicals, alkyl radicals, and sulfonyl radicals in this difunctionalization transformation.