A. Varenikov, E. Shapiro, Mark Gandelman
Nov 19, 2020
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Influential Citations
11
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Journal
Organic letters
Abstract
We describe a highly efficient approach toward α-CF3-substituted benzhydryls thanks to the employment of organotitanium(IV) based nucleophiles. The use of commercially available anesthetic halothane as a cheap fluorinated building block in a sequential one-pot nickel-catalyzed enantioselective cross-coupling reaction of aryl titanates allowed for the synthesis of chiral α-CF3-substituted benzhydryls in good yields and excellent enantioselectivities. Alternatively, α-CF3-benzyl bromides could be employed under similar conditions to obtain the same family of compounds in higher yields and excellent selectivities. A benzhydryl moiety is a common motif in many biologically active compounds, and their enantioenriched fluorinated analogs should be of great interest in the search for novel drugs and agrochemicals.