Syntheses of Thioethers and Selenide Ethers from Anilines

In this study, a general procedure
was proposed for synthesizing
thioethers and selenide ethers from anilines under solvent-free and
transition-metal-free conditions. Thioethers were formed when anilines
reacted with thiols under blue light-emitting-diode (LED) irradiation
at room temperature without a photocatalyst. When reactions were performed
using anilines and diselenides, the corresponding selenide ethers
were obtained with satisfactory to excellent yields. The reaction
was performed under photocatalyst-free and solvent-free conditions
without blue LEDs. The advantages of this system include convenient
operations, mild reaction conditions, satisfactory functional group
tolerance, and late-stage selenylation of drug molecules.