Divergent Access to Furans and Thiophenes by Chalcogenation of 2,3‐Dihydrofurans with Elemental Chalcogens

Abstract A switchable chalcogenation of 2,3‐dihydrofurans with elemental sulfur or molecular oxygen to construct fully substituted thiophenes or furans was developed. In this version of thiophene generation, the sulfuration occurs through a cascade of sulfurative ring editing with inexpensive sulfur powder. Conversely, the production of furans is enabled by aerobic oxidation in basic media.