New stable polyfluorinated nitroxide radicals for use in cross-coupling reactions, namely, N-tert-butyl-N-oxyamino-2,3,5,6-tetrafluoro-4-iodobenzene and N-tert-butyl-N-oxyamino-2,3,5,6-tetrafluoro-4-ethynylbenzene, were prepared from perfluoroiodobenzene. The reaction of the polyfluoro derivative with tert-butylamine under autoclaving conditions leading to the formation of N-tert-butyl-2,3,5,6-tetrafluoro-4-iodoaniline proved to be the key stage of the whole process. The fluorinated tert-butyl iodophenyl nitroxide was found to form in a solid state via N-O···I halogen bonds, a one-dimensional assembly of the radicals. The acceptor role of the nitroxide group in the halogen bonding changes to a donor role when the nitroxide reacts with Cu(hfac)2. In the last case, zero-dimensional assembly prevails, giving a three-spin complex with axial coordinated nitroxide groups and, as a consequence, causing ferromagnetic intramolecular exchange interactions between Cu(II) and radical spins.
Keywords: aromatic nucleophilic substitution; fluoroarenes; functionalized nitroxides; stable organic radicals; tert-butylarylnitroxides.