Visible-light-promoted oxidative desulphurisation: a strategy for the preparation of unsymmetrical ureas from isothiocyanates and amines using molecular oxygen

A green and efficient visible-light promoted oxidative desulphurisation protocol has been proposed for the construction of unsymmetrical ureas under mild conditions with broad substrate scope and good functional group tolerance. Most appealingly, the reaction can proceed smoothly without adding any strong oxidants. Control experiments and computational studies support a mechanism involving water-assisted in situ generation of thioureas and photocatalytic oxidative desulphurisation. The present method provides a promising synthesis strategy for the formation of diverse and useful unsymmetrical urea derivatives in the fields of pharmaceutical and synthetic chemistry.