Abstract Sodium 2-hydroxyethanesulfinate (3) could be converted to the unstable methyl ester 8 by acidification followed by reaction with diazomethane (although the acid 4, itself, could not be isolated as reported). The ester 8 was esterified with 2.2′-dithiodiacetyl dichloride (10) to afford the desired convergent synthesis of a disulfide bissulfinate ester (11), but 11 was even less stable than 8; efforts to esterify the sulfinate salt 3 with 10 to ...
