Abstract
The ligand that stabilizes the metal center is crucial to its catalytic activity.
Historically dominated by phosphorus and nitrogen, sulfur has long been little considered
as a hetero element for stabilizing a potentially active metal center. However, this
situation is changing and we are seeing more and more examples that incorporate this
element. This review provides an overview of recent transition-metal-catalyzed reactions
with ligands containing neutral sulfur groups, i.e. thioethers. A selection of examples
published since 2013 illustrates the diversity of applications of thioether-containing
ligands and shows that sulfur should be more widely used in the development of homogeneous
catalysis.
1 Introduction
2 Phosphorus-Thioether Ligands
3 Nitrogen-Thioether Ligands
4 Oxygen-Thioether Ligands
5 NHC-Thioether Ligands
6 Cycloolefin-Thioether Ligands
7 Conclusion
Key words Homogeneous catalysis - S,N ligands - S,P ligands - S,NHC ligand - S,O ligands - thioether
ligands
