Copper-Catalyzed Oxidative Trifunctionalization of Olefins: An Access to Functionalized β-Keto Thiosulfones.

Aerobic oxidative trifunctionalization of olefins for the synthesis of functionalized β-keto thiosulfones has been described. The transformation proceeds through molecular oxygen activation under copper catalysis and forms the two new C-S bonds in a single operation using mild conditions. A novel Cu-catalyzed sulfonyl radical addition/oxidation/funtionalization relay mechanism was proposed for the discovered reaction.