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A representative number of bench-stable nonsymmetric diarylcarbenium tetrafluoroborates have been isolated via the direct coupling of aryl (or heteroaryl) aldehydes and N-heteroarenes and fully characterized. They have proven to be highly stable in the presence of both EDG and EWG substituents. An (E)-iminium vinylogous substructure has been shown as the common cation scaffold by X-ray analysis and by NOE determination.

An initial study has been accomplished into the synthetic feasibility of the preparation of diarylcarbenium salt via the direct coupling of aryl (or heteroaryl) aldehydes and arenes (or heteroaryl analogues) in the presence of a strong organic Brønsted acid. A number of stabilized aryl or heteroaryl(3-indolyl)carbenium ions, never previously prepared in the solid state, have been isolated in excellent yields as highly stable o-benzenedisulfonimide salts and have been fully characterized. Their purity has been proven by spectroscopic methods and chemical reduction with NaBH(4). An X-ray crystal structure analysis has been performed on one of the products: an azafulvenium species was shown to be the exclusive structure in the solid state.

The reaction between dry arenediazonium o-benzenedisulfonimides 1 and sodium thiolates in anhydrous methanol represents an efficient and safe procedure, of general validity, for the preparation of unfunctionalized or variously functionalized alkyl aryl and diaryl sulfides. As a rule, the reaction temperature was maintained at 0-5 degrees C for the alkylthiodediazoniations and at room temperature (20-25 degrees C) for the arylthiodediazoniations. The sulfide yields are generally high; of the 63 considered examples, 43 gave yields greater than 80% and 13 were between 70% and 80%. Lower yields were obtained only when sterically hindered diazonium salts or thiols were used. A good amount of the o-benzenedisulfonimide (8) was always recovered from the reactions and could be reused to prepare salts 1. The copious experimental data collected in homogeneous conditions have offered several starting points for the study of the mechanism of these reactions.

The paper reports the results of a wide study aimed at preparing aryl chlorides 3 (19 examples), bromides 4 (19 examples), and iodides 5 (9 examples) by halodediazoniation of dry arenediazonium o-benzenedisulfonimides 1 with tetraalkylammonium halides 2. The reactions were carried out in anhydrous acetonitrile at room temperature ( approximately 20 degrees C) in the presence of copper powder and at 60 degrees C or room temperature without the catalyst. In optimal conditions the yields were from good to excellent (60 reactions, 61-94% yield), with only a few exceptions (8 reactions, 51-55% yield). A good amount of the o-benzenedisulfonimide (7) was always recovered from the reactions and could then be reused to prepare salts 1. An interesting aspect of this research is the surprising role of the anion of o-benzenedisulfonimide (9) as an electron transfer agent.

A study was made of the isomerization reaction of a great variety of trimethyl alpha-keto trithioorthocarboxylates to alpha,alpha-bis(methylthio) thiolcarboxylates, intermediates of high synthetic value for the synthesis of alpha-arylpropionic acids. The reaction was carried out in methylene chloride in the presence of catalytic amounts of trityl perchlorate or methanesulfonic acid and was complete in 2 h at rt. In most of the investigated cases the result was positive, the yields usually being greater than 90%. Also the reaction mechanism was subjected to an experimental study.