Palladium‐Catalyzed Fluoroarylation of gem‐Difluoroalkenes

A Pd‐catalyzed fluoroarylation of gem‐difluoroalkenes with aryl halides is reported. By taking advantage of the in situ generated α‐CF3‐benzylsilver intermediates derived from the nucleophilic addition of silver fluoride to gem‐difluoroalkenes, this strategy bypasses the use of a strong base, thus enabling a mild and general synthetic method for ready access to non‐symmetric α,α‐disubstituted trifluoroethane derivatives. Two is company: By taking advantage of the in situ generation of α‐trifluoromethyl benzylsilver intermediates, a general synthetic method for the preparation of 1,1,1‐trifluoro‐2‐arylalkane derivatives through palladium‐catalyzed fluoroarylation of gem‐difluoroalkenes has been developed. This work represents a rare example of the introduction of α‐trifluoromethylated alkyl segments through a two‐electron transmetalation process.