Recent advances in thionating reagents for the synthesis of organosulfur compounds

Abstract

Thionation is the most suitable and efficient method for the synthesis of organosulfur compounds. Thio-compounds are important intermediates in the synthesis of various biologically active molecules and are also of importance from an industrial point of view. They have various applications in fields such as pharmaceutical, polymer and pesticide industries. Several methods are reported in the literature for the thionation which makes use of a variety of thionating reagents (either alone or in combination) such as elemental sulfur, phosphorus pentasulfide and Lawesson's reagent (LR). This report focuses on the thionation method for the synthesis of organosulfur compounds developed after 1991.

Keywords:

• Thionation
• Organosulfur compounds
• Lawesson's reagent
• Curphey's reagent (P₄S₁₀/ HMDO)
• Kaushik's reagent (P₄S₁₀/Al₂O₃)
• Bernthsen reagent (S₈/I₂)
• HMDST
• Heimgartner's reagent
• Davy's reagent
• In situ and supported thionating reagents