Swern oxidation

The first step of the Swern oxidation is the low-temperature reaction of DMSO, 1a, formally as resonance contributor 1b, with oxalyl chloride, 2. The first intermediate, 3, quickly decomposes giving off carbon dioxide and carbon monoxide and producing chloro(dimethyl)sulfonium chloride, 4. After addition of the alcohol 5, the chloro(dimethyl)sulfonium chloride 4 reacts with the alcohol to give the key alkoxysulfonium ion intermediate, 6. The addition of at least 2 equivalents of base — typically triethylamine — will deprotonate the alkoxysulfonium ion to give the sulfur ylide 7. In a five-membered ring transition state, the sulfur ylide 7 decomposes to give dimethyl sulfide and the desired carbonyl compound 8. ==Variations==

When using oxalyl chloride as the dehydration agent, the reaction must be kept colder than to avoid side reactions. With cyanuric chloride or trifluoroacetic anhydride instead of oxalyl chloride, the reaction can be warmed to without side reactions. Other methods for the activation of DMSO to initiate the formation of the key intermediate 6 are the use of carbodiimides (Pfitzner–Moffatt oxidation), a sulfur trioxide pyridine complex (Parikh–Doering oxidation) or acetic anhydride (Albright-Goldman oxidation). The intermediate 4 can also be prepared from dimethyl sulfide and N-chlorosuccinimide (the Corey–Kim oxidation). In some cases, the use of triethylamine as the base can lead to epimerisation at the carbon alpha to the newly formed carbonyl. Using a bulkier base, such as diisopropylethylamine, can mitigate this side reaction. ==Considerations==

Dimethyl sulfide, a byproduct of the Swern oxidation, is one of the most notoriously unpleasant odors known in organic chemistry. Humans can detect this compound in concentrations as low as 0.02 to 0.1 parts per million. A simple remedy for this problem is to rinse used glassware with bleach or oxone solution, which will oxidize the dimethyl sulfide back to dimethyl sulfoxide or to dimethyl sulfone, both of which are odourless and nontoxic. The reaction conditions allow oxidation of acid-sensitive compounds, which might decompose under the acidic oxidation conditions such as Jones oxidation. For example, in Thompson & Heathcock's synthesis of the sesquiterpene isovelleral, the final step uses the Swern protocol, avoiding rearrangement of the acid-sensitive cyclopropanemethanol moiety. ==See also==