Iodine-Catalyzed Facile Approach to Sulfones Employing TosMIC as a Sulfonylating Agent

A novel iodine-catalyzed functionalization of a variety of olefins and alkynes and direct decarboxylative functionalization of cinnamic and propiolic acids with TosMIC to provide access to various vinyl, allyl, and beta-iodo vinylsulfones is described. This simple, efficient, and environmentally benign approach employing inexpensive molecular iodine as a catalyst demonstrates a versatile protocol for the synthesis of highly valuable sulfones, rendering it attractive to both synthetic and medicinal chemistry.