Facile synthesis of enantioenriched phenol-sulfoxides and their aluminum complexes

Chiral phenolic p-tolylsulfoxides and t-butylsulfoxides were prepared by several short synthetic routes starting from readily available starting materials. The key synthetic step was the reaction of lithiated arenes with menthyl sulfinates or enantioselective oxidation of a t-butyl sulfide. Well-defined neutral ligand-AlMe2 complexes were obtained by stoichiometric treatment with AlMe3.