THIOPHENOL COPPER(I) SALT

Reagents used as the source of nucleophilic phenyl sulfide for preparation of lithiumalkyl(phenylthio)cuprates and organophosphinecopper(I) phenylthiolatecomplexes

One method to preparing Thiophenol Copper(I) salt is to treat Thiophenol with Copper(I) Oxide in ethanol at reflux to give phenylthiocopper as a yellow suspension. Alternatively, lithiation of thiophenol and quenching with Copper(I) Iodide affords a yellow solution,  which is typically reacted in situ with organometallic reagents.

core: copper
reagent type: catalyst

The Cu salt can be extracted from a thimble (Soxhlet) with boiling MeOH. It is a green-brown powder which gives a yellow-green solution in pyridine. Wash it with EtOH and dry it in a vacuum. It can be precipitated from a pyridine solution by adding H2O, collecting the precipitate, washing it with EtOH and drying in a vacuum. [Posner et al. Synthesis 662 1974, Krebs et al. Chem Ber 90 425 1957, Beilstein 6 IV 1465.]