{rfName}
Ph

Indexed in

Citations

49

Altmetrics

Analysis of institutional authors

Wu, ShuoAuthorWong, Thomas Hin-FungAuthor

Share

February 27, 2024
Publications
>
Article
No

Photochemical Organocatalytic Synthesis of Thioethers from Aryl Chlorides and Alcohols

Publicated to: Journal Of The American Chemical Society. 146 (5): 2907-2912 - 2024-01-24 146(5), DOI: 10.1021/jacs.3c13900

Authors: Wu, Shuo; Wong, Thomas Hin-Fung; Righi, Paolo; Melchiorre, Paolo

Affiliations

ICIQ Inst Chem Res Catalonia, Tarragona 43007, Spain - Author
Univ Bologna, Dept Ind Chem Toso Montanari, I-40129 Bologna, Italy - Author

Abstract

Thioethers, often found in pharmaceuticals and natural compounds, typically involve metal cross-coupling reactions, high temperatures, and the use of disagreeable thiols for their synthesis. Here we present a straightforward, thiol-free organocatalytic protocol that uses mild conditions to stitch together inexpensive alcohols and aryl chlorides, yielding a diverse array of aryl alkyl thioethers. Central to this approach was the discovery that tetramethylthiourea can serve as a simple sulfur source upon intercepting photochemically generated aryl radicals. To form radicals, we used a readily available indole thiolate organocatalyst that, when excited with 405 nm light, gained a strongly reducing power, enabling the activation of typically unreactive aryl chlorides via single-electron transfer. Radical trapping by the thiourea, followed by an alcohol attack via a polar path, resulted in the formation of thioether products.

Keywords

CatalystCross-coupling reactionsEfficientHalidesIodidesThiols

Quality index

Bibliometric impact. Analysis of the contribution and dissemination channel

The work has been published in the journal Journal Of The American Chemical Society due to its progression and the good impact it has achieved in recent years, according to the agency WoS (JCR), it has become a reference in its field. In the year of publication of the work, 2024 there are still no calculated indicators, but in 2023, it was in position 17/239, thus managing to position itself as a Q1 (Primer Cuartil), in the category Chemistry, Multidisciplinary. Notably, the journal is positioned above the 90th percentile.

This publication has been distinguished as a “Highly Cited Paper” by the agencies WoS (ESI, Clarivate) and ESI (Clarivate), meaning that it ranks within the top 1% of the most cited articles in its thematic field during the year of its publication. In terms of the observed impact of the contribution, this work is considered one of the most influential worldwide, as it is recognized as highly cited. (source consulted: ESI Nov 13, 2025)

Specifically, and according to different indexing agencies, this work has accumulated citations as of 2025-12-09, the following number of citations:

  • WoS: 15
  • Europe PMC: 2

Impact and social visibility

From the perspective of influence or social adoption, and based on metrics associated with mentions and interactions provided by agencies specializing in calculating the so-called "Alternative or Social Metrics," we can highlight as of 2025-12-09:

  • The use, from an academic perspective evidenced by the Altmetric agency indicator referring to aggregations made by the personal bibliographic manager Mendeley, gives us a total of: 33.
  • The use of this contribution in bookmarks, code forks, additions to favorite lists for recurrent reading, as well as general views, indicates that someone is using the publication as a basis for their current work. This may be a notable indicator of future more formal and academic citations. This claim is supported by the result of the "Capture" indicator, which yields a total of: 33 (PlumX).

With a more dissemination-oriented intent and targeting more general audiences, we can observe other more global scores such as:

  • The Total Score from Altmetric: 22.
  • The number of mentions on the social network X (formerly Twitter): 39 (Altmetric).

Leadership analysis of institutional authors

This work has been carried out with international collaboration, specifically with researchers from: Italy.

There is a significant leadership presence as some of the institution’s authors appear as the first or last signer, detailed as follows: First Author (Wu, Shuo) .

Awards linked to the item

Financial support was provided by Agencia Estatal de Investigacion (PID2019-106278GB-I00) and Project PRIN PNRR "LIGHT CAT" P2022RHMCM supported by the European Commission - NextGeneration EU program - M4C2. S.W. thanks the China Scholarship Council for a predoctoral fellowship (CSC202006920025). T.H.F.W. thanks the Government of Catalonia and the European Social Fund for an FI Fellowship (2021FI-B00304).