Sulfuration of organoborates, an underexploited method

The combination of sulfurating agents with organoboranes is an underexploited synthetic transformation. The reactivity of borate complexes was investigated with several electrophilic sulfur species. Simple and practical methods for making carbon–sulfur bonds were created under almost neutral conditions. These enjoy a heavy metal-free environment and use not so toxic boron compounds. This is in contrast to the manipulation of poisonous H2S or the use of sulfur with Grignard reagents, under highly basic and moisture-sensitive conditions.