Deoxyfluorination with CuF <sub>2</sub> : Enabled by Using a Lewis Base Activating Group
D. Eilidh Sood, Sue Champion, Daniel M. Dawson, Sonia Chabbra, Bela E. Bode, Andrew Sutherland, Allan J. B. Watson
Abstract
Abstract Deoxyfluorination is a primary method for the formation of C−F bonds. Bespoke reagents are commonly used because of issues associated with the low reactivity of metal fluorides. Reported here is the development of a simple strategy for deoxyfluorination, using first‐row transition‐metal fluorides, and it overcomes these limitations. Using CuF 2 as an exemplar, activation of an O‐alkylisourea adduct, formed in situ, allows effective nucleophilic fluoride transfer to a range of primary and secondary alcohols. Spectroscopic investigations have been used to probe the origin of the enhanced reactivity of CuF 2 . The utility of the process in enabling 18 F‐radiolabeling is also presented.