Molecular Iodine-Mediated Difunctionalization of Alkenes with Nitriles and Thiols Leading to β-Acetamido Sulfides.

A direct difunctionalization protocol of alkenes with nitriles and thiols toward β-acetamido sulfide derivatives has been proposed under metal-free synthesis conditions. The present protocol provides the facile and highly efficient synthesis of various β-acetamido sulfides in a scaled-up manner with good to excellent yields simply using inexpensive molecular iodine as a catalyst, DMSO as a mild oxidant, and readily available thiols as thiolating reagents.