Visible Light-Promoted Defluorinative Alkylation of Trifluoromethyl Ketones with α-Aminoalkyl Boron Species.

In this study, we developed a photoredox-catalyzed defluorinative cross-coupling method for trifluoroketones and alkyl boronic acids. The reaction afforded a series of novel α,α-difluoroketone derivatives, and in vitro fungicidal activity revealed that some of these compounds exhibited moderate to excellent activity against Rhizoctonia solani and Botrytis cinerea. In particular, compound 3d showed an EC50 value of 4.27 μg/mL against B. cinerea and can be used as a fungicidal lead compound for further optimization.