Recent advances in the synthesis and applications of β-keto sulfones: new prospects for the synthesis of β-keto thiosulfones

This review mainly focuses on recent developments in the preparation of beta-keto sulfones and their extensive synthetic applications. New prospects for the synthesis of beta-keto thiosulfones have also been highlighted. Over the last decade, there has been exponential growth in the direct construction of beta-keto sulfones using a wide variety of keto and sulfonyl precursors. Of note, the most promising photoredox transformations and electrochemical synthesis methods of beta-keto sulfones are also presented. Moreover, beta-keto sulfones are versatile building blocks in organic synthesis due to their three essential functional groups: sulfonyl, carbonyl, and active methylene moieties. The convenient preparation of beta-keto sulfones allows the synthesis of many valuable carbocyclic and heterocyclic compounds, and the effortless removal of the sulfonyl moiety via transformations is supported. The chemistry of beta-keto sulfones (2013 to present) can be divided into several sections based on the sulfonyl surrogates, and ubiquitous synthetic strategies were systematically outlined.

Automated summary

This review focuses on recent advancements in the preparation and synthetic applications of beta-keto sulfones, with an emphasis on direct construction methods and versatile characteristics, as well as the synthesis prospects and multifunctionality of beta-keto thiosulfones.