A novel metal-free process allowing the reductive desulfurization of various benzylic dithioketals to afford diarylmethane and benzylester derivatives with good to excellent yields is reported. At room temperature, this mild reduction process requires only the use of TMSCl and NaI in CH2Cl2 and tolerates a large variety of functional groups.

No abstract

For the first time, the combination of chlorotrimethylsilane with NaI is used as a selective reducting system toward 1,2-diketones. This combination is successfully evaluated with several unsymmetrically benzil derivatives, which are reduced in good yields and with a total α-regioselectivity at room temperature. Identification of benzoin intermediates is achieved, and a mechanistic radical process is proposed.