Synthesis of Sulfoximines by Copper-Catalyzed Oxidative Coupling of Sulfinamides and Aryl Boronic Acids.

A novel copper-catalyzed cross-coupling reaction of sulfinamides and aryl boronic acids is developed. The reaction is highly chemoselective and stereospecific, which allows mild synthesis of optically pure sulfoximines with broad scope and functional group tolerance. The utility of this method is demonstrated by the asymmetric synthesis of pharmaceutical intermediates.