We introduce a protecting-group-free concept for the powerful para-fluoro-thiol reaction (PFTR) employing a source of fluoride ions as base. The reaction is shown to be self-propagating, with under-stoichiometric amounts of base, thus effectively foregoing the need for high base concentrations. Careful tuning of the solvent-thiol combination allows for quantitative conversion, in some cases within a short timeframe, when only minimal amounts of base are used, allowing the PFTR reaction to essentially proceed base-free.
Keywords: base; fluorine; para-fluoro thiol; self-sustained; synthetic methods.
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