Substituted phenylsulfur trifluoride and other like fluorinating agents

1. A compound of the formula (I):

in which

R 1a and R 1b are independently a hydrogen atom; a primary or secondary alkyl group having from one to eight carbon atoms; or a primary, secondary, or tertiary alkyl group having two to eight carbon atoms and at least one ether linkage; and

R 2a and R 2b are independently a hydrogen atom; a halogen atom; a primary, secondary, or tertiary alkyl group having from one to eight carbon atoms; or a primary, secondary, or tertiary alkyl group having two to eight carbon atoms and at least one ether linkage;

R 3 is a hydrogen atom; a primary, secondary, or tertiary alkyl group having from one to eight carbon atoms; or a primary, secondary, or tertiary alkyl group having two to eight carbon atoms and at least one ether linkage; and

wherein, when R 3 is a hydrogen atom, at least two of R 1a , R 1b , R 2a , and R 2b each is independently a halogen atom; a primary, secondary, or tertiary alkyl group having from one to eight carbon atoms wherein R 1a and R 1b are not a halogen atom or a tertiary alkyl group; or a primary, secondary, or tertiary alkyl group having two to eight carbon atoms and at least one ether linkage; or, at least one of R 1a , R 1b , R 2a , and R 2b is a primary, secondary, or tertiary alkyl group having two to eight carbon atoms and at least one ether linkage; and

wherein, when R 3 is a primary alkyl group having one to eight carbon atoms, at least one of R 1a , R 1b , R 2a , and R 2b is a halogen atom; a primary, secondary, or tertiary alkyl group having from one to eight carbon atoms wherein R 1a and R 1b are not a halogen atom or a tertiary alkyl group; or a primary, secondary, or tertiary alkyl group having two to eight carbon atoms and at least one ether linkage; and

wherein, when at least two of R 2a , R 2b , and R 3 are tertiary alkyl groups, the tertiary alkyl groups are non-adjacent.

2. The compound of claim 1 , wherein the primary, secondary, or tertiary alkyl groups having one to eight carbon atoms have from one to four carbon atoms.

3. The compound of claim 1 , wherein the primary, secondary, or tertiary alkyl groups having two to eight carbon atoms and at least one ether linkage have two to five carbon atoms and one or two ether linkages.

4. The compound of claim 1 , wherein the compound is selected from the group consisting of 2,6-dimethyl-4-tert-butylphenylsulfur trifluoride; 2,6-dimethyl-3-chloro-4-tert-butylphenylsulfur trifluoride; 2,6-dimethyl-3,5-dichloro-4-tert-butylphenylsulfur trifluoride; 4-tert-butylphenylsulfur trifluoride; 2,4,6-trimethylphenylsulfur trifluoride; 2,4-dimethylphenylsulfur trifluoride; 2,5-dimethylphenylsulfur trifluoride; 2,6-dimethylphenylsulfur trifluoride; 2,4,6-tri(isopropyl)phenylsulfur trifluoride; 2,6-bis(methoxymethyl)phenylsulfur trifluoride; 2,6-bis(methoxymethyl)-4-tert-butylphenylsulfur trifluoride; 2,6-bis(ethoxymethyl)-4-tert-butylphenylsulfur trifluoride; 2,6-bis(isopropoxymethyl)-4-tert-butylphenylsulfur trifluoride; 2,6-bis(isobutoxymethyl)-4-tert-butylphenylsulfur trifluoride; and 2,6-bis(tert-butoxymethyl)-4-tert-butylphenylsulfur trifluoride.

5. The compound of claim 1 according to formula (Ia):

in which:

R 1a and R 1b are independently a hydrogen atom; a primary or secondary alkyl group having from one to eight carbon atoms; or a primary, secondary, or tertiary alkyl group having two to eight carbon atoms and at least one ether linkage;

R 2a′ and R 2b′ are independently a hydrogen atom or a halogen atom; and

R 3 is a hydrogen atom; a primary, secondary, or tertiary alkyl group having from one to eight carbon atoms; or a primary, secondary, or tertiary alkyl group having two to eight carbon atoms and at least one ether linkage;

wherein when R 3 is a hydrogen atom, R 1a and R 1b are independently a primary or secondary alkyl group having from one to eight carbon atoms or at least one of R 1a and R 1b is a primary, secondary, or tertiary alkyl group having two to eight carbon atoms and at least one ether linkage, and

wherein, when R 3 is a primary alkyl group having one to eight carbon atoms, at least one of R 1a and R 1b is a primary or secondary alkyl group having from one to eight carbon atoms or a primary, secondary, or tertiary alkyl group having two to eight carbon atoms and at least one ether linkage.

6. The compound of claim 5 , wherein the primary, secondary, or tertiary alkyl groups having one to eight carbon atoms have from one to four carbon atoms.

7. The compound of claim 5 , wherein the alkyl groups having two to eight carbon atoms and at least one ether linkage have two to five carbon atoms and one or two ether linkages.

8. The compound of claim 7 , wherein the alkyl group is selected from the

group consisting of CH 2 OCH 3 , CH 2 OCH 2 CH 3 , CH 2 OCH 2 CH 2 CH 3 , CH 2 OCH(CH 3 ) 2 , CH 2 OCH 2 (CH 2 ) 2 CH 3 , CH 2 OCH(CH 3 )CH 2 CH 3 , CH 2 OCH 2 CH(CH 3 ) 2 , CH 2 OC(CH 3 ) 3 , CH 2 OCH 2 C(CH 3 ) 3 , CH 2 OCH 2 CH 2 OCH 3 , CH 2 OCH 2 CH 2 CH 2 OCH 3 , CH 2 OCH 2 CH 2 OCH 2 CH 3 , CH 2 CH 2 OCH 3 , CH 2 CH 2 OCH 2 CH 3 , CH 2 CH 2 OCH(CH 3 ) 2 , CH 2 CH 2 OCH 2 CH 2 OCH 3 , CH(CH 3 )OCH 3 , CH(CH 3 )OCH 2 CH 3 , C(CH 3 ) 2 OCH 3 , and C(CH 3 ) 2 OCH 2 CH 3 .

9. The compound of claim 8 , wherein the alkyl group is selected from the

group consisting of CH 2 OCH 3 , CH 2 OCH 2 CH 3 , CH 2 OCH(CH 3 ) 2 , and CH 2 OCH 2 CH(CH 3 ) 2 .

10. The compound of claim 1 according to formula (II):

in which:

R 1a′ and R 1b′ are independently a hydrogen atom or a primary or secondary alkyl group having from one to eight carbon atoms; and

R 3′ is a hydrogen atom, or a primary, secondary, or tertiary alkyl group having from one to eight carbon atoms;

wherein when R 3′ is a hydrogen atom, R 1a′ and R 1b′ are independently a primary or secondary alkyl group having from one to eight carbon atoms, and wherein, when R 3′ is a primary alkyl group having one to eight carbon atoms, at least one of R 1a′ and R 1b′ is a primary or secondary alkyl group having from one to eight carbon atoms.

11. The compound of claim 10 , wherein the primary, secondary, or tertiary alkyl groups have from one to four carbon atoms.

12. The compound of claim 1 according to formula (Ib):

in which

R 3′ is a hydrogen atom, or a primary, secondary, or tertiary alkyl group having from one to eight carbon atoms; and

R 4 is a primary, secondary, or tertiary alkyl group; and

R 5 and R 6 are independently an alkylene group; the number of total carbon atoms of R 4 , R 5 , and R 6 is eight or less, and m is 0 or 1.

13. The compound of claim 12 , wherein the primary, secondary, or tertiary alkyl groups have four carbon atoms or less.

14. The compound of claim 12 , wherein R 4 is a primary or secondary alkyl group.

15. The compound of claim 12 , wherein m is 0.

16. The compound of claim 12 , wherein R 5 is methylene group.