Synthesis of Organosulfur and Organoselenium Derivatives from Castor Oil

Aiming to meet some principles of Green Chemistry, this article describes the synthesis of new organochalcogenium compounds derived from a renewable source. For this purpose, methyl (Z)-12-[(p-toluenesulfonyl)oxy]methyl-9-octadecenoate was initially prepared in two steps from castor bean oil. It was used in the synthesis of (Z)-12-organylchalcogenoctadec-9-enoates by nucleophilic substitution with chalcogenolate ions. This is an efficient synthetic route for the synthesis of various new, semi-synthetic sulfides and selenides in good yields.