An efficient tris-(2-aminoethyl)amine-CuI-catalyzed thioetherification of thiols with aryl halides

A robust method has been developed to couple a wide variety of thiols and aryl halides. The C–S bond forming reaction makes use of catalytic copper(I) iodide and the ligand tris-(2-aminoethyl)amine. These conditions tolerate a wide degree of functionality on both aryl halide and thiol reactants and have resulted in numerous examples being synthesized. Commercial availability of the ready to use, inexpensive ligand, tris-(2-aminoethyl)amine and air-stable CuI make the method well suited to generate a diverse array of diaryl thioethers.