Stereoselective synthesis of allylic sulfones via palladium-catalyzed hydrosulfonylation of cyclopropenes†

A novel and efficient approach for obtaining allylic sulfones was demonstrated via palladium-catalyzed hydrosulfonylation of cyclopropenes. Preliminary mechanistic studies disclosed that π-allyl palladium might be the key intermediate. This process is applicable to a broad range of cyclopropane derivatives and employs commercially available sodium sulfinates as the sulfonyl source. Gram-scale reactions and further derivatizations showed the great synthetic potential of this method for construction of allylic sulfones.