Asymmetric carbon-fluoride bond formation

The importance of fluorinated organic componnds both in medicinal chemistry and biochemistry has resulted in much recent attention towards efficient carbon fluorine bond formation [30]. The reactions developed include a very successful electrophilic asymmetric mono-fluormation of 1,3-dicarbonyl compounds [31]. A nucleophilic variant was also investigated. In this context, the groups of Togni and Mezzetti have established that ruthenium Lewis acids could efficiently catalyze fluorination reactions [32]. In the presence of [Ru(l,2-bis(diphenylphosphino)ethane)2Cl][PF6] (8) (10 mol%), fert-butyl iodide reacted at room temperature with TIF (1.1 equiv.) to yield fert-butyl fluoride (84% yield). This reaction was extended successfully to a range of organic halides (Entries 1-3, Scheme 10.19). The use of the chiral complex [Ru((lS,2S)-N,N bis[2-diphenylphos-phino)benzylidene]diaminocydohexane))Cl][PF6] (9) showed modest chiral induction at the outset of the reaction (Entry 4, Scheme 10.17). The near-racemic mixture obtained at completion points to an SNl-type process in this nucleophilic halide... 

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