Palladium-Catalyzed gem-Difluorovinylation of Potassium Benzyltrifluoroborates with 2,2-Difluoroethenyl Tosylates via sp3-sp2 Cross-Couplings.

Compounds that contain the gem-difluoroalkene motifs are of particular interest to the pharmaceutical industry, yet remain a challenge to synthesize. Herein, we report a palladium-catalyzed gem-difluorovinylation of potassium benzyltrifluoroborates with 2,2-difluoroethenyl tosylates via sp3-sp2 cross-couplings, which offers a facile and mild alternative to reported procedures for the synthesis of gem-difluorovinyl compounds in good to excellent yields.