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Mechanism of Electrophilic Fluorination with Pd(IV): Fluoride Capture and Subsequent Oxidative Fluoride Transfer.
Jochen R Brandt1, Eunsung Lee1, Gregory B Boursalian1
1Department of Chemistry and Chemical Biology, Harvard University, 12 Oxford Street, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02138, United States.
Abstract:
Electrophilic fluorinating reagents derived from fluoride are desirable for the synthesis of 18F-labeled molecules for positron emission tomography (PET). Here, we study the mechanism by which a Pd(IV)-complex captures fluoride and subsequently transfers it to nucleophiles. The intermediate Pd(IV)-F is formed with high rates even at the nano- to micromolar fluoride concentrations typical for radiosyntheses with 18F due to fast formation of an outer-sphere complex between fluoride and Pd(IV). The subsequent fluorine transfer from the Pd(IV)-F complex is proposed to proceed through an unusual SET/fluoride transfer/SET mechanism. The findings detailed in this manuscript provide a theoretical foundation suitable for addressing a more general approach for electrophilic fluorination with high specific activity 18F PET imaging.
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