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Updated: May 26, 2026

Protocol for the Synthesis of Ortho-trifluoromethoxylated Aniline Derivatives
Published on: January 19, 2016
A new reagent for direct difluoromethylation.
Yuta Fujiwara1, Janice A Dixon, Rodrigo A Rodriguez
1Department of Chemistry, The Scripps Research Institute, 10550 North Torrey Pines Road, La Jolla, California 92037, USA.
A new reagent, difluoromethyl zinc (DFMS), enables efficient difluoromethylation of organic molecules. This radical process is mild, scalable, and works for various complex substrates like heteroarenes and thiols.
Area of Science:
- Organic Chemistry
- Medicinal Chemistry
- Materials Science
Background:
- Alkylfluorine-containing molecular scaffolds are crucial in pharmaceuticals and materials.
- Developing efficient methods for introducing difluoromethyl groups is an ongoing challenge.
Purpose of the Study:
- To report a novel reagent, Zn(SO(2)CF(2)H)(2) (DFMS), for difluoromethylation.
- To establish a mild, scalable, and chemoselective radical difluoromethylation process.
Main Methods:
- Radical difluoromethylation using the new DFMS reagent.
- Application to diverse organic substrates including nitrogen-containing heteroarenes, conjugated π-systems, and thiols.
Main Results:
- DFMS facilitates innate difluoromethylation under mild and operationally simple conditions.
- The method demonstrates broad substrate compatibility and scalability.
- Regiochemical analysis indicates the CF(2)H radical exhibits nucleophilic character.
Conclusions:
- DFMS is a versatile reagent for introducing the difluoromethyl group.
- This method offers a valuable tool for synthesizing fluorinated organic compounds.
- The nucleophilic nature of the CF(2)H radical provides insights into reaction mechanisms.
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