Brønsted acid-mediated thiazole synthesis from sulfoxonium ylides

A Brønsted acid-mediated insertion of thioureas/thioamides into sulfoxonium ylides to synthesise 40 thiazoles (34-95% yields) under mild, metal-free conditions is described. This process is scalable, substrate-tolerant (including both α-substituted and heterocyclic ylides/groups) and was successfully applied to the late-stage functionalisation of the complex chemical probe molecule (+)-JQ1. A Brønsted acid-mediated insertion of thioureas/thioamides into sulfoxonium ylides to synthesise 40 thiazoles (34-95% yields) under mild, metal-free conditions is described.