Neutral Sulfur Nucleophiles: Synthesis of Thioethers and Thioesters by Substitution Reactions of N-Heterocyclic Carbene Boryl Sulfides and Thioamides.

Newly discovered boryl sulfides and N-borylthioamides are shown to serve as neutral sources of sulfur nucleophiles in substitutions reactions. For example, heating of diMe-Imd-BH(SPh)2 with benzyl bromides, primary bromides, or acid chlorides provides the corresponding thioethers or thioesters in high yields. Likewise, N-phenyltetrazole thioethers/esters are made from a readily available N-borylthionotetrazole. The formation of the boryl sulfide and its onward nucleophilic substitution can be telescoped down to a one-pot reaction whose components are an NHC-borane (NHC-BH3), a disulfide, and an electrophile.\ud \u