Fluorination has become an important reaction in medicinal chemistry because fluorine atom can
significantly influence drug metabolism and pharmacokinetics with increased lipophilicity,
metabolic stability, membrane permeability and bioavailability. I...
Fluorination has become an important reaction in medicinal chemistry because fluorine atom can
significantly influence drug metabolism and pharmacokinetics with increased lipophilicity,
metabolic stability, membrane permeability and bioavailability. In this study, the visible light
photocatalytic C-H trifluoromethylation of arenes and N-H fluorocarbamoylation of Nheterocycles
using sodium trifluoromethanesulfinate (CF3SO2Na), so called Langlois reagent, as a
source of fluorine, are described. The reactions of electron-rich aromatic compounds in the
presence of 2,3-dichloro-5,6-dicyano-1,4-benzoquinone (DDQ) as a photoredox catalyst under
irradiation of visible light afforded the desired fluoroarenes in reasonable yields. Mechanistically,
the trifluoromethylation proceeded via addition of CF3 radical intermediate followed by hydrogen
abstraction. Alternatively, the CF3 radical, generated from visible light irradiation to Langlois
reagent, can be converted to CF3OO radical by aerobic oxidation, which would be rapidly
decomposed to generate carbonyl fluoride (F2C=O). This highly reactive species can be reacted
with various secondary amines to afford a wide range of carbamoyl fluorides in good to excellent
yield. Further transformation of carbamoyl fluorides to ureas or carbamates were also achieved
under mild reaction conditions.