Synthesis of polyfluoroarene-substituted benzofuran derivatives via cooperative Pd/Cu catalysis

A cooperative Pd/Cu-catalyzed dual C-H bond activation of electron-deficient polyfluoroarenes with aryl halides is developed. This protocol provides a unique and strategically distinct access to a variety of polyfluoroarene-substituted benzofuran derivatives. This is the first example of the introduction of electron-deficient arenes to a Catellani-type reaction.