Constructing the OCF2O Moiety Using BrF3

Introduction of fluorine and fluorine-containing functional groups

Over the past decade, the most significant, conceptual advances in the field of fluorination were enabled most prominently by organo- and transition-metal catalysis. The most challenging transformation remains the formation of the parent C-F bond, primarily as a consequence of the high hydration energy of fluoride, strong metal-fluorine bonds, and highly polarized bonds to fluorine. Most fluorination reactions still lack generality, predictability, and cost-efficiency. Despite all current limitations, modern fluorination methods have made fluorinated molecules more readily available than ever before and have begun to have an impact on research areas that do not require large amounts of material, such as drug discovery and positron emission tomography. This Review gives a brief summary of conventional fluorination reactions, including those reactions that introduce fluorinated functional groups, and focuses on modern developments in the field.

Oxidation of primary aliphatic and aromatic aldehydes with difluoro(aryl)-λ3-bromane

Oxidation of primary aliphatic aldehydes with p-trifluoromethylphenyl(difluoro)-λ(3)-bromane in dichloromethane at 0 °C afforded acid fluorides selectively in good yields, while that of aromatic aldehydes in chloroform at room temperature produced aryl difluoromethyl ethers. A larger migratory aptitude of aryl groups compared to primary alkyl groups during a 1,2-shift from carbon to an electron-deficient oxygen atom in bromane(III) Criegee-type intermediates will result in these differences in the reaction courses.

Synthesis of difluoroaryldioxoles using BrF3

A novel synthesis of different aromatic and heteroaromatic difluorodioxole derivatives has been developed. The starting materials were catechols, which, after treatment with thiophosgene, formed at 0 °C the respective thiodioxoles. The latter were reacted for a short time with commercially available bromine trifluoride, producing potentially biologically important difluoroaryldioxoles in moderate to high yields.