Sulfur-fluoride exchange (SuFEx) chemistry is emerging as a promising synthetic tool in chemical biology, material science, and synthetic chemistry. In synthesis, sulfur(VI) fluorides show unique promise as synthons in organic chemistry due their stability versus other sulfur(VI) halogen analogues. Key to the adoption of SuFEx chemistry is the development of efficient modes to synthesize and react sulfur(VI) fluorides. Research initiatives employing group 2, and transition-metal chemistry toward the synthesis of sulfonyl fluorides via fluorosulfurylation – the installation of a SO2F group – will be described. New SuFEx methods that react a broad set of S(VI) fluorides with carbon, oxygen, and nitrogen-based nucleophiles towards structurally diverse S(VI) compounds will also be presented.
Nicholas Ball (Pomona College)