Iron-catalyzed oxidation of thioethers by iodosylarenes: Setereoselectivity and reaction mechanism

Catalytic properties of a series of iron(III)-salen (salen=N,N'-bis(salicylidene)ethylenediamine dianion) and related complexes in asymmetric sulfoxidation reactions, with iodosylarenes as terminal oxidants, have been explored. These catalysts have been found to efficiently catalyze oxidation of alkyl aryl sulfides to sulfoxides with high chemoselectivity (up to 100%) and moderate-to-high enantio-selectivity (up to 84% with isopropylthiobenzene and iodosylmesitylene), the TON (TON=turnover number) approaching 500. The influence of the ligand (electronic and steric effects of the substituents), oxidant, and substrate structures on the oxidation stereoselectivity has been investigated systematically. The structure of the reactive intermediates (complexes of the type [Fe-III (ArIO)(salen)] and the reaction mechanism have been revealed by both mechanistic studies with different iodosylarenes and direct in situ H-1 NMR observation of the formation of the reactive species and its reaction with the substrate.