Copper-mediated difluoromethylation of aryl and vinyl iodides

J Am Chem Soc. 2012 Mar 28;134(12):5524-7. doi: 10.1021/ja301013h. Epub 2012 Mar 14.

Abstract

Selectively fluorinated molecules are important as materials, pharmaceuticals, and agrochemicals, but their synthesis by simple, mild, laboratory methods is challenging. We report a straightforward method for the cross-coupling of aryl and vinyl iodides with a difluoromethyl group generated from readily available reagents to form difluoromethylarenes and difluoromethyl-substituted alkenes. The reaction of electron-neutral, electron-rich, and sterically hindered aryl and vinyl iodides with the combination of CuI, CsF and TMSCF(2)H leads to the formation of difluoromethyl-substituted products in high yield with good functional group compatibility. This transformation is surprising, in part, because of the prior observation of the instability of CuCF(2)H.

Publication types

  • Research Support, N.I.H., Extramural

MeSH terms

  • Alkenes / chemical synthesis
  • Alkenes / chemistry
  • Catalysis
  • Copper / chemistry*
  • Halogenation
  • Hydrocarbons, Aromatic / chemical synthesis
  • Hydrocarbons, Aromatic / chemistry
  • Indicators and Reagents / chemical synthesis
  • Indicators and Reagents / chemistry
  • Iodides / chemical synthesis
  • Iodides / chemistry*
  • Methylation

Substances

  • Alkenes
  • Hydrocarbons, Aromatic
  • Indicators and Reagents
  • Iodides
  • Copper