Methyl 3-oxo-ω-fluorosulfonylperfluoropentanoate: a versatile trifluoromethylating agent for organic halides

Abstract

Methyl 3-oxo-ω-fluorosulfonylperfluoropentanoate FSO2CF2CF2OCF2CO2Me 1, prepared through the reaction of readily available ICF2CF2OCF2CF2SO2F and SO3 followed by MeOH, is a very convenient trifluoromethylating agent; in the presence of copper(I) iodide, 1not only reacts with vinyl, benzyl allyl, phenyl iodides and bromides, but also with aryl chlorides to give the corresponding trifluoromethyl compounds in moderate to high yield; a probable reaction mechanism is proposed.