Aluminum amalgam unsaturated carbonyl compounds

Vinyl fluorides,1 Fluoro(phenylsulfonyl)methylithium (2), obtained by reaction of 1 with BuLi in THF at — 78°, reacts with carbonyl compounds to form fluorohydrins (3), which are dehydrated to (E)-a-fluoro-a,p-unsaturated sulfones (4) in 67-92% yield with CH3S02C1 or orthophosphoric acid. Conversion of 4 into vinyl fluorides (5) is effected with aluminum amalgam (—90% yield). The vinyl fluorides are obtained as a 1 1 mixture of (E)- and (Z)-isomers. 

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