Ring‐Opening/Ring‐Closing Protocols from Nitrothiophenes: Six‐Membered versus Unusual Eight‐Membered Sulfur Heterocycles through Michael‐Type Addition on Nitrobutadienes

When Ar is a low‐aromaticity homo‐ or heterosystem, the sulfonyl‐stabilized anion of nitrobutadienes 4 (which derive from the initial ring opening of 3‐nitrothiophene) undergoes a rather surprising addition onto the aromatic ring itself, thereby leading to the construction of an unusual eight‐membered sulfur heterocycle condensed with the original Ar ring. The competitiveness of such a pathway with respect to the formation of the thiopyran ring (i.e., addition onto the nitrovinyl moiety) is favored at low temperatures, thus revealing its nature as a kinetically controlled process.