LAUSR

β-Sulfido sulfonyl fluoride and its derivatives have been gaining attention recently in the fields of medicinal chemistry and material science. The conventional method for the synthesis of functionalized alkyl sulfonyl fluorides requires several chemical transformations. Therefore, a direct establishment of such chemical structures remains challenging, and an efficient catalytic approach is highly desired. Herein we report a significant "on-water" hydrophobic amplification enabling a high-turnover catalytic thia-Michael addition to produce unprecedented β-arylated-β-sulfido sulfonyl fluorides. Amounts as low as 100 parts-per-million (0.01 mol%) of the phosphazene superbase were sufficient to successfully catalyze the reaction with excellent chemo-/site-selectivity and with optimal functional group tolerance. Several β-arylated ethene sulfonyl fluorides were converted into thia-Michael adducts up to >99% yields. The significantly mild, high-turnover, neutral pH, and scalability of the sustainable catalytic process benefit the preparation of potential pharmaceuticals (e.g., polyisoprenylated methylated protein methyl esterase inhibitors) and organic materials (e.g., electrolyte additives).