Organic reactions of sulfur dioxide. IV. A facile regiospecific hydrogen-deuterium exchange in olefins. Consequence of the intermediacy of allylic sulfinic acids in the ene reaction of sulfur dioxide with double bonds

It is reported that the isomerization of the double bond, and presumably the rearrangement of the allylic sulfinic acid intermediates is completely suppressed in the presence of water. The reaction of sulfur dioxide with the double bond and the ene reaction in the resulting dipolar ions are apparently not affected. As a consequence, in the presence of deuterium oxide a very facile exchange of the allylic hydrogens and deuterium takes place