Radical C-H Trifluoromethoxylation of (Hetero)arenes with Bis(trifluoromethyl)peroxide
Radical C-H Trifluoromethoxylation of (Hetero)arenes with Bis(trifluoromethyl)peroxide
Image Credit: The Authors
S. Dix, P. Golz, J. R. Schmid, S. Riedel,* M. N. Hopkinson* – 2021
Trifluoromethoxylated (hetero)arenes are of great interest for several disciplines, especially in agro- and medicinal chemistry. Radical C-H trifluoromethoxylation of (hetero)arenes represents an attractive approach to prepare such compounds but the high cost and low atom economy of existing •OCF3 radical sources makes them unsuitable for the large-scale synthesis of trifluoromethoxylated building blocks. Herein, we introduce bis(trifluoromethyl)peroxide (BTMP, CF3OOCF3) as a practical and efficient trifluoromethoxylating reagent that is easily accessible from inexpensive bulk chemicals. Using either visible light photoredox or TEMPO catalysis, trifluoromethoxylated arenes could be prepared in good yields under mild conditions directly from unactivated aromatics. Moreover, TEMPO catalysis allowed for the one-step synthesis of valuable pyridine derivatives, which have been previously prepared via multistep approaches.