Efficient synthesis of racemic and chiral alkenyl sulfoxides by palladium-catalyzed Suzuki coupling

Alkenyl sulfoxide derivatives are obtained in high yields through a palladium-catalyzed Suzuki/Miyaura cross-coupling reaction of racemic and chiral 1-halo sulfoxides with aryl and alkenyl boronic acids. Chiral substrates react with no loss of optical purity and high optical yields. The reaction takes place with different palladium catalysts, such as Pd(PPh3)4 or Pd(OAc)2/DABCO. Although nitrogen ligands like DABCO lead to an active palladium catalyst, they are less effective than the phosphine ones.