Palladium-catalyzed desulfurization of diaryl disulfides toward diaryl thioethers

A straightforward strategy was developed for the synthesis of diaryl thioethers through the palladium-catalyzed direct desulfurization of diaryl disulfides. A wide range of aromatic disulfides (ArSSAr) were smoothly desulfurized to afford the corresponding thioethers (ArSAr) in good to high yields, overcoming the limitations of traditional phosphine-based desulfurization methods, which often exhibit sluggish reactivity with aromatic disulfides. Notably, this method was successfully extended to the synthesis of diphenyl selenide (PhSePh) and diphenyl telluride (PhTePh), which were obtained in excellent yields. Furthermore, when applied to diheteroaryl disulfides (HetSSHet, where Het = 2-pyridyl or 2-thienyl), the reaction unexpectedly afforded the corresponding diheteroaryl compounds (Het–Het) via C–C coupling, rather than the anticipated thioether products.