SOS Case Study: Enantioselective Cycloadditions Involving Sulfur Ylides

Clara Meilhac | Institut de Chimie Moleculaire et des Matériaux d’Orsay (ICMMO), CNRS, Université Paris-Saclay, France

Clara Meilhac obtained her M.Sc. from the University of Caen (France) in 2025. She is currently a PhD student in the group of Dr. Aurélien de la Torre, where she works on the generation of sulfur ylide derivatives and their reactivity in cycloaddition reactions.

Abstract:

Our team is involved in various research projects, with a current particular focus on the development of new cycloaddition methodologies. Over the past few years, we have developed enantioselective [4+2]-cycloaddition reactions between diverse dienes and suitable partners, enabling access to molecular scaffolds that can be further manipulated through ring-opening or retro-cycloaddition processes. However, these methods are limited to a specific range of substrates. Sulfur ylides are interesting one-carbon partners for cycloaddition reactions, with an inherent nucleophilic character. While commonly employed in (2+1) cycloadditions, their involvement in enantioselective (4+1) cycloaddition is more limited. The successful development of such approaches requires a thorough understanding of the synthesis and reactivity of these one-carbon species.

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