One-pot preparation of Julia-Kocienski sulfides and sulfones from alcohols

[Display omitted] •One-pot reaction.•Preparation of Julia-Kocienski sulfides from alcohols.•Preparation of Julia-Kocienski sulfones from alcohols.•Useful for alkene synthesis. A method for one-pot preparation of Julia-Kocienski sulfides and sulfones from alcohols and thiols is reported. A variety of primary alcohols were converted to the corresponding mesylates by methansulfonyl chloride and triethylamine in THF. After the reaction is complete, thiol (1 or 10) and either NaH or t-BuOK were added. The Julia-Kocienski sulfides 3, 9 and 11 were prepared by one-pot two steps procedure from alcohols in 76–96% yields (16 examples). Furthermore, after the sulfide formation, the reaction mixture was neutralized by p-toluenesulfonic acid and treated with H2O2 and ammonium molybdate in EtOH to give the Julia-Kocienski sulfones 4 in good yields except for trans-2-hexen-1-ol.