Defluorinative Transformation of (2,2,2-Trifluoroethyl)arenes Catalyzed by the Phosphazene Base t-Bu-P2

J Org Chem. 2023 Feb 3;88(3):1796-1802. doi: 10.1021/acs.joc.2c02034. Epub 2023 Jan 23.

Abstract

In this study, we demonstrated that 1-tert-butyl-2,2,4,4,4-pentakis(dimethylamino)-2λ5,4λ5-catenadi(phosphazene) (t-Bu-P2) catalyzes the defluorinative functionalization reactions of (2,2,2-trifluoroethyl)arenes with alkanenitriles to produce monofluoroalkene products. The reaction proceeds through HF elimination from a (2,2,2-trifluoroethyl)arene to form a gem-difluorostyrene intermediate, which is followed by nucleophilic addition of an alkanenitrile and elimination of a fluoride anion. The catalysis is compatible with a variety of functional groups.