Recent progress in the synthesis of sulfonyl fluorides for SuFEx click chemistry

Abstract

Since the sulfur(VI) fluoride exchange reaction (SuFEx) was introduced by Sharpless and co-workers in 2014, this new-generation click chemistry has emerged as an efficient and reliable tool for creating modular intermolecular connections. Sulfonyl fluorides, one of the most important sulfur(VI) fluoride species, have attracted enormous attention in diverse fields, ranging from organic synthesis and material science, to chemical biology and drug discovery. This review aims to introduce seminal and recent progresses on the synthetic methods of sulfonyl fluorides, which include aromatic, aliphatic, alkenyl, and alkynyl sulfonyl fluorides. While not meant to be exhaustive, the purpose is to give a timely overview and insight in this field, and stimulate the development of more efficient synthetic methods of sulfonyl fluorides.