Thiol-ene chemistry of vinylsilanes

The thiol-ene addition reaction is a clean, effective method for the introduction of the thioether functionality into unsaturated compounds. Though widely used in organic, polymer and materials chemistry, the application of the thiol-ene reaction in organosilicon chemistry has been relatively minimal. The literature discussed here emphasizes the synthetic utility of thiol-ene reactions of vinylsilanes by highlighting the following areas: (1) the tolerance of various vinylsilane derivatives, (2) the reactivity of various substituents on the vinylsilane moiety, (3) the simplicity of reaction conditions, and (4) the versatility of reaction products as intermediates.