Decarboxylative Cross-Coupling of Acyl Fluorides with Potassium Perfluorobenzoates.

We report the transition metal-free decarboxylative cross-coupling reactions of acyl fluorides with potassium perfluorobenzoates. Compared with traditional transition metal-catalyzed cross-couplings, this protocol presents an extremely environmentally benign pathway to afford unsymmetrical diaryl ketones. To install perfluorophenyl groups, this method highlights highly selective, inexpensive, and nontoxic conditions. The reaction system tolerates various functional groups in acyl fluorides. Remarkably, all of the starting materials can be prepared from abundant carboxylic acids and the reaction proceeds without any catalysts and additives.