RhCl3·3H2O‑Catalyzed Ligand-Enabled Highly Regioselective Thiolation of Acrylic Acids

The simple inorganic rhodium salt RhCl3·3H2O was used as a catalyst to achieve the thiolation of acrylic acids, with a series of (Z)-alkenyl sulfides being obtained exclusively. It is noteworthy that [Cp*RhCl2]2 was not as efficient as RhCl3·3H2O in this strategy. Furthermore, the products could be transformed conveniently into biologically and pharmacologically useful thioflavones.