Sulfur(VI) fluoride exchange (SuFEx) is a new family of click chemistry based transformations that enable the synthesis of covalently linked modules via SVI hubs. Here we report thionyl tetrafluoride (SOF4 ) as the first multidimensional SuFEx connector. SOF4 sits between the commercially mass-produced gases SF6 and SO2 F2 , and like them, is readily synthesized on scale. Under SuFEx catalysis conditions, SOF4 reliably seeks out primary amino groups [R-NH2 ] and becomes permanently anchored via a tetrahedral iminosulfur(VI) link: R-N=(O=)S(F)2 . The pendant, prochiral difluoride groups R-N=(O=)SF2 , in turn, offer two further SuFExable handles, which can be sequentially exchanged to create 3-dimensional covalent departure vectors from the tetrahedral sulfur(VI) hub.
Keywords: SuFEx reaction; amines; click chemistry; phenols; thionyl tetrafluoride.
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