Atom economical synthesis of di- and trithiocarbonates by the lithium tert-butoxide catalyzed addition of carbon disulfide to epoxides and thiiranes.

Alkali metal alkoxides were studied as catalysts for the addition of CS2 to epoxides. A screening of several commercially available alkoxides revealed lithium tert-butoxide as an active and selective catalyst for this reaction. The influence of different reaction parameters as well as the substrate scope under optimized reaction conditions has been studied.