Scalable Synthesis of S-Fluoromethyl Benzenesulfonothioate

A general and practical method for the preparation of S-fluoromethyl benzenesulfonothioate on a 500 g scale in two steps from readily available CH2FCl, sulfur, and sodium benzenesulfinate is reported. The reaction was found to be rather sensitive to water and temperature. Furthermore, the main side product of the reaction was identified to be S-phenyl benzenesulfonothioate.