Palladium-catalyzed regio- and stereoselective chlorothiolation of terminal alkynes with sulfenyl chlorides.

Chlorothiolation of terminal alkynes with sulfenyl chlorides yields anti-adducts without transition-metal catalysts. In sharp contrast, transition-metal-catalyzed chlorothiolation has not been developed to date, possibly because organosulfur compounds can poison catalyst. Herein, the regio- and stereoselective palladium-catalyzed chlorothiolation of terminal alkynes with sulfenyl chlorides is described. syn-Chlorothiolation offers a complementary synthetic route to chloroalkenyl sulfides. 2-Chloroalkenyl sulfides can easily be transformed into various sulfur-containing products, most of which are often found in natural products and pharmaceuticals.