Oxidative fluorination in the Ph2SO–XeF2–Cl− system and fluorine exchange in the Ph2S(O)F2–Ph2S(O)F+ system
Oxidative fluorination of diphenyl sulfoxide with xenon difluoride occurs under mild conditions in the presence of chloride ion to give Ph2S(O)F2 in quantitative yield. Chloride ion appears to react with xenon difluoride to generate fluoride ion, and a mechanism of oxidative fluorination is proposed that involves anionic Ph2S(O)F− and radical Ph2S(O)F• intermediates. Addition of cationic Ph2S(O)F+ to Ph2S(O)F2 initiates rapid fluorine exchange, presumably via a symmetrical fluorine-bridged intermediate, and this exchange process was monitored by 13C and 19F NMR spectroscopy. In the presence of chloride ion, Ph2S(O)Cl2 is formed and can be identified by 13C NMR and by its hydrolysis to Ph2SO2. Mechanisms are proposed for these reactions, and ab initio molecular orbital calculations (GAUSSIAN92) were carried out of the postulated intermediates. Key words: preparation of Ph2S(O)F2, Ph2S(O)F+, and Ph2S(O)Cl2; oxidative fluorination in the Ph2SO–XeF2–Cl− system; fluorine exchange in the Ph2S(O)F2–Ph2S(O)F+ system.