Facile Synthesis of 2‐Fluorobenzofurans: 5‐ endo ‐ trig Cyclization of β,β‐Difluoro‐ o‐ hydroxystyrenes

Difluorocarbene Enables Access to 2,2-Difluorohydrobenzofurans and 2-Fluorobenzofurans from ortho-Vinylphenols

2-Fluorobenzofurans are the backbone structures of many drug molecules and have many potential therapeutic bioactivities. Despite the potential applications in medicinal chemistry, practical and efficient synthetic methods for the construction of 2-fluorobenzofuran are very limited. Herein, we report an efficient and general method for the construction of 2-fluorobenzofurans. Contrary to the previous functionalizations of the existing backbone of benzofuran, our strategy directly constructs benzofuran scaffolds alongside the incorporation of fluorine atom on C2 position in a formal [4 + 1] cyclization from readily accessible ortho-vinylphenols and difluorocarbene. In our strategy, ClCF2H decomposes into difluorocarbene in the presence of base, which is further captured by the oxygen anion from the hydroxy group in ortho-hydroxychalcones; subsequent intramolecular Michael addition to the α, β-unsaturated system leads to 2,2-difluorohydrobenzofurans, and further fluorine elimination renders 2-fluorobenzofurans by forming one C-O bond and one C-C double bond. Of note, various complex 2,2-difluorohydrobenzofurans and 2-fluorobenzofurans could be readily accessed through our protocol via the late-stage elaborations.

Synthesis of 2-Fluorobenzofuran by Photocatalytic Defluorinative Coupling and 5-endo-trig Cyclization

An alkyl radical-triggered dual C-F bond cleavage of α-CF₃-ortho-hydroxystyrenes for the synthesis of 2-fluorobenzofurans was developed. The visible-light-induced defluorinative cross-coupling reactions of α-CF₃-ortho-hydroxystyrenes with a variety of carboxylic acids produced gem-difluoroalkenes, which underwent S_NV-type 5-endo-trig cyclization to give 2-fluorobenzofurans. Mechanistic studies indicated that the electron transfer between phenoxyl radicals and carboxylates was the major pathway for the generation of alkyl radicals.

Two-Step Synthesis of 2-Trifluoromethylated and 2-Difluoromethylated Benzoheteroles Starting from HFO-1224yd(Z) and HFO-1233yd(Z)

An efficient two-step method for synthesizing 2-(trifluoromethyl)- and 2-(difluoromethyl)benzoheteroles bearing various substituents was developed. Commercially available HFO-1224yd(Z) or HFO-1233yd(Z) underwent the Suzuki-Miyaura coupling with arylboronic acids (acid esters) bearing a nucleophilic moiety at the ortho position to yield the corresponding β-fluoro-β-(trifluoromethyl)- or β-fluoro-β-(difluoromethyl)styrenes, respectively. Treatment of the obtained styrenes with potassium phosphate induced nucleophilic 5-endo-trig cyclization to provide the corresponding 2-trifluoromethylated or 2-difluoromethylated indoles and benzofurans, as well as benzothiophenes.

Acid-mediated intermolecular C-F/C-H cross-coupling of 2-fluorobenzofurans with arenes: synthesis of 2-arylbenzofurans

Transition-metal-free acid-promoted biaryl construction was achieved via intermolecular C-F/C-H cross-coupling. By treating 2-fluorobenzofurans with arenes in the presence of AlCl₃, 2-arylbenzofurans were obtained. This protocol was successfully applied to the short-step orthogonal synthesis of a bioactive 2-arylbenzofuran natural product, which allows independent transformations of C-F and C-Br bonds. Mechanistic studies indicated that α-fluorine-stabilized carbocations, generated via the protonation of 2-fluorobenzofurans, served as key intermediates. The Friedel-Crafts-type C-C bond formation between the α-fluorocarbocations and arenes, followed by hydrogen fluoride elimination, afforded 2-arylbenzofurans.