Selective Conversion of Esters to Ketones via β-Ketosulfone Intermediates

The conversion of esters to ketones is a fundamental transformation in organic chemistry, which is often achieved through multistep approaches. Building on our previous work using sulfinates as traceless activating groups, we report a more general and practical strategy employing electron-deficient aryl sulfones for the conversion of esters to ketones. This method is operationally simple, proceeds under mild conditions, and enables the conversion of both aryl and enolizable alkyl esters to alkyl ketones in good to excellent yields. Electrophilic trapping of the β-ketosulfone intermediates enables access to a variety of ketones from a single precursor.