In organic synthesis, sulfur dioxide (SO₂) is a crucial reagent, but commonly used SO₂-releasing compounds come with significant limitations:

• Sodium sulfite (Na₂SO₃): Requires concentrated sulfuric acid, generating excessive heat.
• Sodium metabisulfite (Na₂S₂O₅) & potassium metabisulfite (K₂S₂O₅): Often demand high temperatures and phase transfer catalysts.
• Sodium hydroxymethylsulfonate (HOCH₂SO₂Na·2H₂O): Highly hygroscopic, leading to decomposition into unwanted byproducts (e.g., sulfites, thiosulfates).
• DABSO (1,4-diazabicyclo[2.2.2]octane bis(sulfur dioxide)): Releases SO₂ but generates DABCO as a byproduct, which may interfere with the main reaction system.

To address these issues, Professor Lian Zhong and his team at Sichuan University developed a next-generation sulfur dioxide replacement reagent — SOgen. This reagent is cost-effective, stable, easily stored, and capable of releasing SO₂ in a controlled, fast, and safe manner.

How to use

Figure 1 How to use SOgen reagent

Key Features and Advantages of SOgen

• Rapid SO₂ Release:

  • When combined with the Skrydstrup two-chamber system, SOgen can fully release SO₂ within 5 minutes.

• Main Reaction Integrity:

  • Prevents generated organic byproducts from interfering with the primary reaction.

• Stable and Easy to Handle:

  • No special handling precautions required, with long-term storage stability.

• Wide Application Range:

  • Successfully used in various transformations, including:
    • Olefin sulfonyl functionalization
    • Aryl chloride sulfonation
    • Electrophilic cross-coupling
    • Asymmetric sulfonylation

For example, placing SOgen in the reactor with an equivalent of p-toluene and using tetradecane as the solvent (1.0 mL/0.2 mmol SOgen), the reaction proceeds at 100°C for 10 minutes. The reaction is complete once the solution turns clear, indicating full SO₂ release.

Application examples

Figure 2 SOgen reagent is used in the palladium-catalyzed direct sulfamate reaction of aryl iodides and amines [1]

Figure 3 SOgen reagent applied in copper-catalyzed enantioselective arylsulfonyl cyanation reaction of vinylarenes[8]

About Professor Lian Zhong

Professor Lian Zhong is a leading researcher at the National Key Laboratory of Biotherapy/Dermatology, West China Hospital, Sichuan University. He has been selected for the National Overseas High-level Young Talent Project (Youth Thousand Talents) and is actively engaged in research on:

• Sulfur dioxide resource utilization
• Mechanochemistry
• Small-molecule targeted drug design and synthesis

He has led numerous national and provincial research projects and published in prestigious journals like Science, Nature Communications, Angewandte Chemie, and ACS Catalysis. He also serves as an editorial board member for the European Journal of Organic Chemistry.

Product Availability with J&K Scientific

J&K Scientific exclusively supplies the SOgen reagent developed by Professor Lian Zhong's research team, providing researchers worldwide with access to this cutting-edge, high-performance SO₂ replacement reagent.

Recommended products

Product name:

Perbromothiophene 1,1-dioxide, 95%

CAS：72524-90-4

Item number: 9345666

Related products

References

1. Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. 2021, 60, 7353-7359.
2. Org. Lett. 2021, 23, 4991-4996.
3. Org. Chem. Front. 2021,8, 5310-5315.
4. Org. Lett. 2021, 23, 5880-5884.
5. Org. Lett. 2022, 24, 1207-1212.
6. RSC Adv. 2022, 12, 16745-16750.
7. Adv. Synth. Catal. 2022, 364, 2729-2734.
8. ACS Catal. 2022, 12, 10764-10770.
9. Org. Lett. 2022, 24, 7560-7565.
10. Org. Chem. Front. 2023, 10, 3239-3244.
11. Org. Chem. Front. 2023, 10, 3567-3576.
12. Org. Lett. 2023, 25, 5916-5921.