Zhiwei Xu, Thi Thanh Tam Nguyen, Martial Toffano, Chloée Bournaud, Giang Vo-Thanh, Pascal Retailleau, Thanh Binh Nguyen
We report a sustainable, transition-metal-free multicomponent reaction for the step-economical assembly of (E)-2-(benzo[1,2]dithiol-3-ylidene)acetonitriles. This straightforward protocol utilizes elemental sulfur as a practical sulfur source, alongside active acetonitriles and o-nitro/halobenzaldehydes. Operating under mild conditions, the methodology provides a highly efficient route to novel disulfa heterocycles, expanding the toolkit for synthetic and medicinal chemistry.