Amide-Ligand-Promoted Silver-Catalyzed C-H Fluorination via Radical/Polar Crossover

J Org Chem. 2023 Feb 3;88(3):1865-1874. doi: 10.1021/acs.joc.2c02575. Epub 2023 Jan 23.

Abstract

We describe an efficient method for benzylic C-H fluorination via sequential hydrogen-atom transfer (HAT) and oxidative radical-polar crossover utilizing the Ag(I)/Selectfluor system. Amide ligands, such as benzamide and sulfonamide, substantially facilitate the processes leading to a carbocation intermediate, which subsequently reacts with nucleophilic fluorinating reagent to form a C-F bond. This protocol is applicable to the fluorination of all 1°, 2°, and 3° C-H bonds as well as to late-stage C-H fluorination of bioactive molecules.