A simple and efficient method for sulfonylation of amines, alcohols and phenols with cupric oxide under mild conditions

Cupric Oxide efficiently catalyzed the synthesis of sulfonamides and sulfonic esters. This method has been applied to a variety of substrates including nucleophilic and sterically-hindered amines, alcohols and phenols with excellent yields of sulfonamides and sulfonic esters. The remarkable selectivity under mild and neutral conditions of this commercially available inexpensive catalyst is an attractive feature of this method.