1,1′-Thiocarbonyldiimidazole (TCDI) is generally used as a reagent to carry out the deoxygenation of vicinal diols by forming cyclic thionocarbonate in Corey-Winter alkene synthesis.
It is used as a reagent in the enantioselective total synthesis of (+)-hapalindole Q, 12-epi-fischerindole U and welwitindolinone A.
It is also used in the preparation of trithiocarbonates, xanthates, and dithiocarbamates as chain transfer agents for the reversible addition fragmentation chain transfer and macromolecular design (RAFT/ MADIX) polymerization.
1,1’Thiocarbonyldiimidazole can be used to deoxygenate carboxylic monosaccharide analogues.
1,1'-Thiocarbonyldiimidazole is used as a reagent for the deoxygenation of alcohols with tributyltin hydride and diols with lithium aluminum hydride. It is also used to deoxygenate carboxylic monosaccharide analogues. Further, it is a useful reagent involved in biochemical synthesis. In addition to this, it is used to prepare 1-[bis-(4-methoxy-phenyl)-methyl]-1H-imidazole by reacting with 4,4'-dimethoxy-benzhydrol.
It forms yellow crystals on recrystallisation from tetrahydrofuran or by sublimation at 10-3torr (bath temperature 70-80o). It is hydrolysed by H2O and should be stored dry. [Staab & Walther Justus Liebigs Ann Chem 657 98 1962; Pullukat et al. Tetrahedron Lett 1953 1967, Hanessian et al. Can J Chem 65 1859 1987, Rajanbabu et al. J Am Chem Soc 111 1759 1989.] Thiochrome {2,7-dimethyl-5H -thiachromine-8-ethanol; 3,8-dimethyl-2-hydroxyethyl-5H -