Thiosuccinimide enabled S-N bond formation to access N-sulfenylated sulfonamide derivatives with synthetic diversity.

A thiosuccinimide enabled S-N cross-coupling strategy has been established for the intermolecular N-sulfenylation of clinically approved sulfa drugs under additive-free conditions. This approach features simple operation, high chemoselectivity for sulfenylating the phenylamino group of sulfonamides, wide substrate scope, and easy scale production, affording N-sulfenylated products in moderate to excellent yields (up to 90%). In addition, we also found that this transformation can be realized in a one-pot manner by employing readily available thiols as starting materials, and the obtained sulfonamide derivatives are capable of various late-stage functionalizations, including oxidation, arylation, benzylation, and methylation.