KIO3-Catalyzed Aerobic Cross-Coupling Reactions of Enaminones and Thiophenols: Synthesis of Polyfunctionalized Alkenes by Metal-Free C-H Sulfenylation.

The synthesis of polyfunctionalized aminothioalkenes has been realized via the direct C-H sulfenylation of enaminones and analogous enamines. These cross-coupling reactions have been achieved by simple KIO3 catalysis under aerobic conditions without employing any transition metal catalyst or additional oxidant. The employment of bio-based green solvent ethyl lactate as the reaction medium constitutes another sustainable feature of the present work.