Additive-controlled synthesis of 1- and 2-deoxysugars from thioglycosides

Two photoreactions for the synthesis of 1- and 2-deoxysugars from thioglycosides were developed. In the presence of Hantzsch ester as an additive, a wide range of 1-deoxysugars were synthesized in moderate to excellent yields under irradiation with UV light without an exogenous photosensitizer. On the other hand, the utilization of 2,4,6-tri-tert-butylpyrimidine (TTBP) as the additive furnished a variety of 2-deoxysugars as the main products from their corresponding thioglycosides. The reported methodology has a broad substrate scope and high functional group tolerance and is scalable to gram-scale reaction.