Photo-catalyzed hydroxylation and disulfidation of vinyl arenes with tetrasulfides, oxygen and water.

This paper reports a photo-catalyzed synthetic method for synthesis of β-hydroxy disulfides via hydroxylation and disulfidation of vinyl arenes by using commercially available or easily accessible tetrasulfides (RSSSSR). A series of mechanistic studies, including radical trapping experiments, UV-vis spectroscopy, Stern-Volmer quenching analyses, light on/off experiments, and isotope labeling studies, were conducted to investigate the reaction mechanism.