A recent report suggests that the reaction of dimethylsulfoxonium methylide with esters does not produce a chain‐extended sulfur ylide as previously reported, but rather affords the corresponding carboxylate salt. We have investigated this assertion by using a combination of ab initio molecular orbital calculations, spiking studies, and isotopic labeling. The formation of carboxylate is unambiguously demonstrated to arise through hydrolysis involving adventitious water, principally derived from moisture in commercial trimethylsulfoxonium chloride. Careful vacuum drying of this reagent diminishes the competing hydrolytic pathway resulting in higher yields for the chain‐extension reaction than previously reported.
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