Enantioselective Routes to Sulfoxides Based Upon the Use of Carbanionic Leaving Groups

Several carbanionic leaving groups can be easily displaced from the sulfinyl group by organometallic reagents. The reaction follows a highly stereoselective course of inversion of configuration. Provided that a ready route to the precursor sulfinyl compound is available (e.g. an enantioselective ox-idation of the corresponding sulfide), the process can be transformed into an easy and versatile procedure for the ster-eoselective synthesis of sulfoxides.