Fluorinated sulfoximines: syntheses, properties and applications

The interest in fluorinated sulfoximines has rapidly increased over the past twenty years. As sulfoximines are analogues of sulfones where one of the two S=O units has been replaced by an S=N moiety, they can confer new reactivities and properties never observed for the respective sulfones. In this tutorial review, we present the specific properties of fluorinated sulfoximines (including important bioactivities) and describe the syntheses and the applications of fluoromethyl transfer agents such as Johnson's reagent. Furthermore, we highlight the exceptional electronic effects induced by the presence of strongly electron-withdrawing fluoro-bearing sulfonimidoyl moieties, which allowed the development of remarkable super-acidifiers and super-acceptors with relevance in materials sciences.