Visible-Light Photoredox Catalysis for the Synthesis of Fluorinated Aromatic Compounds

Abstract

Fluorine-containing functional groups are important motifs influencing physical and biological properties of organic compounds. Visible-light photoredox catalysis as a powerful strategy for the activation of small molecules contributed significantly to the rapid progress of new synthetic procedures allowing introduction of fluorine atoms into organic substrates. In this review, we highlight the distinct strategies for transition metal- and organic-photocatalytic fluorination of arenes and heteroarenes by a broad range of fluorinating compounds. The presented procedures are divided into two groups. The first group involves the reactions enabling a direct attachment of CF3-, CnFm-, F-, CF3O-, CF3S-, and SO2F- substituents to various aromatic compounds. The second group presents the tandem reactions where the formation of the aromatic system occurs after installation of the fluorine-containing group on the non-aromatic fragment of the molecule.