Passage of hydrogen chloride through molten MsO yields MsCl.
Similar to MsCl, MsO can perform mesylation of alcohols to form sulfonates. Use of MsO avoids the alkyl chloride, which often appears as a side-product when MsCl is used. Unlike MsCl, MsO may not be suitable for mesylation of the unsaturated alcohols.
Examples of mesylation of alcohols with MsO:
* Octadecyl methanesulfonate was prepared from octadecanol in pyridine.
* Secondary alcohol at the anomeric carbon of 2,3,4,5-O-Benzyl-protected glucose reacted to form a glycosyl mesylate, which was found to be more stable than its triflate counterpart, in 2,4,6-collidine.
MsO also converts amines to sulfonamides.