Silica sulfuric acid/NaNO2 as a novel heterogeneous system for production of thionitrites and disulfides under mild conditions

Neat chlorosulfonic acid reacts with silica gel to give silica sulfuric acid in which sulfuric acid is immobilized on the surface of silica gel via covalent bond. Thiols can be readily converted to their corresponding thionitrites with a combination of silica sulfuric acid, wet SiO2 and sodium nitrite in dichloromethane at room temperature. Disulfides result from the homolytic cleavage of the sulfur-nitrogen bond of the unstable thionitrites and subsequent coupling of the resultant thiyl radicals. (C) 2001 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.