Mechanism of the Oxidation of Sulfides by Dioxiranes: Conformational Mobility and Transannular Interaction in the Oxidation of Thianthrene 5-Oxide

The detailed study of the oxidation of thianthrene 5-oxide (1) with methyl(trifluoromethyl)dioxirane (5b) in different solvents and in the presence of (18)O isotopic tracers is reported. Thianthrene 5-oxide (1) is a flexible molecule in solution, and this property allows for transannular interaction of the sulfoxide group with the expected zwitterionic 7 and hypervalent 10-S-4 sulfurane 9 intermediates formed in the oxidation and biases the course of the reaction toward the monooxygenation pathway.