Nucleophilic and Radical Heptafluoroisopropoxylation with Redox-Active Reagents.

The heptafluoroisopropyl group (CF(CF3 )2 ) is prevalent in pharmaceuticals and agrichemicals. However, heptafluoroisopropoxylated (OCF(CF3 )2 ) compounds remain largely underexplored, presumably due to the lack of efficient access to these compounds. Herein, we disclose the practical and efficient heptafluoroisopropoxylation reactions through the invention of a series of redox-active N-OCF(CF3 )2 reagents. These reagents were readily prepared from the oxidative heptafluoroisopropylation of hydroxylamines with AgCF(CF3 )2 . The substitutions on the nitrogen atom significantly affected the properties and reactivities of N-OCF(CF3 )2 reagents. Accordingly, two types of N-OCF(CF3 )2 reagents including N-OCF(CF3 )2 phthalimide A and N-OCF(CF3 )2 benzotriazolium salt O' were used as OCF(CF3 )2 anion and radical precursors, respectively. This protocol enables the direct heptafluoroisopropoxylation of a range of substrates, delivering the corresponding products in moderate to excellent yields.