Ethenesulfonyl Fluoride (ESF) and Its Derivatives in SuFEx Click Chemistry and More

The sulfur(VI) fluoride exchange reaction (SuFEx), developed by Sharpless and co-workers in 2014, is a new category of click reaction that creates molecular connections with absolute reliability and unprecedented efficiency through a sulfur(VI) hub. Ethenesulfonyl fluoride (ESF), as one of the most important sulfur(VI) hubs, exhibits extraordinary reactivity in SuFEx click chemistry and organic synthesis. This review summarizes the chemical properties and applications of ESF in click chemistry, organic chemistry, materials science, medicinal chemistry and in many other fields related to organic synthesis. 1 Introduction 2 Chemical Transformations of ESF 3 Chemical Transformations of 2-Arylethenesulfonyl Fluorides 4 Novel SuFEx Reagents Derived from ESF 5 Applications of ESF Derivatives in Medicinal Chemistry 6 Applications of ESF Derivatives in Materials Science 7 Conclusion