The Thermolytic Generation of Sulfenic Acids in Synthesis: an Account

Once generated in situ, sulfenic acids are transient species that regio- and stereoselectively add to triple and double bonds or condense with thiols to respectively give vinyl and alkyl sulfoxide or unsymmetrically substituted disulfides. This account deals with the use of these versatile intermediates in our preparative chemistry, covering the last decades and spanning from the syntheses of enantiopure carba- and hetero-unsaturated species to be used in stereoselective transformations, getting to cyclophanes, tripodal and amphiphilic species and passing from the generation of biologically relevant residue-decorated sulfenic acids.