Synthesis of Sulfimides and N-Allyl-N-(thio)amides by Ru(II)-Catalyzed Nitrene Transfer Reactions of N-Acyloxyamides.

The N-acyloxyamides were employed as effective N-acyl nitrene precursors in reactions with thioethers under the catalysis of a commercially available Ru(II) complex, from which a variety of sulfimides were synthesized efficiently and mildly. If an allyl group is contained in the thioether precursor, the [2,3]-sigmatropic rearrangement of the sulfimide occurs simultaneously and the N-allyl-N-(thio)amides were obtained as the final products. Preliminary mechanistic studies indicated that the Ru-nitrenoid species should be a key intermediate in the transformation.