Recent developments in palladium-catalyzed C-S bond formation

Transition metal-catalyzed C-S bond formation reactions have attracted considerable attention in the recent years. In this regard, palladium-catalyzed C-S bond formation is typically attractive because it can effectively assemble structurally diverse unsymmetrical aryl sulfides and functionalized sulfones under mild conditions with high regioselectivities. In this review, palladium-catalyzed C-S bond formation reactions are summarized and discussed in detail with the focus on sulfenylation and sulfonylation reactions involving aryl/heteroaryl C-H bonds, alkynes, aryl halides, electron-rich benzoic acid derivatives, arylhydrazines, and organosilicon reagents. Some representative synthetic strategies and their transformation application along with reaction mechanisms are also highlighted.