Tri- and tetra-fluorinated [7]helicenes are photolabile and undergo a double fluorine atom transfer. Herein, we show that the transferred product further undergoes a skeletal transformation on silica gel. The transformation begins with activation of the allylic C-F bond on the silanol surface. Then, the resulting carbocation readily undergoes a regioselective nucleophilic aromatic substitution with water, depending on the position of the fluorine substituents. Hexafluoro-2-propanol also activated the allylic C-F bond and acted as a nucleophile. These findings support the generation of a highly reactive cationic electrophilic intermediate in the successive transformations involving fluorine atoms.
Keywords: C−F bond activation; aromatic substitution; carbocations; domino reactions; fluorine.
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