Diels-Alder reactions of perfluoroketene dithioacetals with electron-rich 1,3-dienes: a new access to polysubstituted aromatic sulfides

The present paper describes the Diels-Alder reactions of perfluoroketene dithioacetals with electron-rich 1,3-dienes (2,3-dimethylbuta-1,3-diene, isoprene, penta-1,3-diene) followed by spontaneous HF and thiol elimination, leading to polysubstituted aromatic sulfides in moderate to good yields. Reactions seem to be dependent on the substitution patterns of perfluoroketene dithioacetals; the best results were obtained from trifluoromethyl or pentafluoroethyl and ethylsulfanyl derivatives. Theoretical calculations performed at the DFT level are in good agreement with the experimental results and show that the overall process is controlled by the cycloaddition step.