Volume 137, Issue 8 e202419591
Forschungsartikel

Defluorinative C−O Coupling between Trifluoromethylarenes and Alcohols via Copper Photoredox Catalysis

Priya Saha

Priya Saha

Institute for Chemical Reaction Design and Discovery (WPI-ICReDD), Hokkaido University, Kita 21, Nishi 10, Kita-ku, Sapporo, Hokkaido, 001–0021 Japan

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Prof. Dr. Mingoo Jin

Prof. Dr. Mingoo Jin

Institute for Chemical Reaction Design and Discovery (WPI-ICReDD), Hokkaido University, Kita 21, Nishi 10, Kita-ku, Sapporo, Hokkaido, 001–0021 Japan

List Sustainable Digital Transformation Catalyst Collaboration Research Platform, Institute for Chemical Reaction Design and Discovery (ICReDD List-PF), Hokkaido University, Kita 21, Nishi 10, Kita-ku, Sapporo, Hokkaido, 001–0021 Japan

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Prof. Dr. Dennis Chung-Yang Huang

Corresponding Author

Prof. Dr. Dennis Chung-Yang Huang

Institute for Chemical Reaction Design and Discovery (WPI-ICReDD), Hokkaido University, Kita 21, Nishi 10, Kita-ku, Sapporo, Hokkaido, 001–0021 Japan

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First published: 01 January 2025

Abstract

Fluorine-containing compounds have shown unparalleled impacts in the realm of functional molecules, and the ability to prepare novel structures has been crucial in unlocking new properties for applications in pharmaceutical and materials science. Herein, we report a copper-catalyzed, photoinduced defluorinative C−O coupling between trifluoromethylarenes and alcohols. This method allows for direct access to a wide selection of difluorobenzylether (ArCF2OR) molecules, including a compound displaying liquid crystal behavior. Through slight modification of the protocol, we were able to generate difluorobenzyliodide (ArCF2I) products, another class of synthetically useful fluorine-bearing molecules. Mechanistic investigations first suggested that ArCF2I can serve as a reservoir to steadily supply the key ArCF2⋅ radical species. Furthermore, experimental evidence supported a mechanism consisting of two collaborative cycles: C−F activation operated by a homoleptic Cu(I) coordinated by two bisphosphine ligands as the photocatalyst and C−O coupling promoted by a Cu(I) ligated by a single bisphosphine ligand. The critical roles of the two salt additives, lithium iodide and zinc acetate, in orchestrating the two cycles were also elucidated. This dual-role copper catalyst demonstrates the power of base metal photoredox catalysis in achieving both substrate activation and chemical bond formation via a single catalytic system.

Conflict of Interests

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Data Availability Statement

The data that support the findings of this study are available in the supplementary material of this article.

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