Selective Reductive Cleavage of 2-(Phenylthio)pyrimidines for Efficient Synthesis of 2-(H)pyrimidines

A reaction method is described for selective reductive cleavage of 2-(phenylthio)pyrimidines using Pd(OAc)(2) and Et3SiH to produce 2-(H)pyrimidines. The reaction proceeds efficiently with a wide range of 2-(phenylthio)pyrimidines. Considering the ready availability of 2-(arylthio)pyrimidines derived from oxidative C-S cross coupling of 3,4-dihydropyrimidin-1H-2-thiones (DHPMs), this method unambiguously provides a shortcut to the preparation of 2-(H)pyrimidines with unprecedented diversity. (C) 2019 Published by Elsevier Ltd.