The
regiospecific radical reactions of β-alkyl nitroalkenes
with sulfonyl hydrazides depended to a great extent on the choice
of a solvent and catalyst. In the presence of dimethylformamide (DMF),
β-alkyl nitroalkenes more likely converted into electron-rich
allyl nitro compounds, which reacted with sulfonyl hydrazides to afford
allyl sulfones with high regioselectivity. While in acetonitrile (CH3CN), vinyl sulfones were obtained directly via sulfonation of electron-deficient β-alkyl nitroalkenes. The
mechanism investigation revealed that the regioselectivity was controlled
by the equilibrium of β-alkyl nitroalkenes and allyl nitro compounds.