Overview on the Preparation of Fluorinated Compounds

Two approaches are thus possible for synthesizing an elaborated molecule containing one or several fluorine atoms. The first one is the synthesis of a nonfluorinated precursor of the target molecule with further introduction of the fluorine atoms at a late 

Bioorganic and Medicinal Chemistry of Fluorine, by Jean-Pierre Begue and Daniele Bonnet-Delpon Copyright 2008 John Wiley Sons, Inc. 

The synthesis of fluorinated aliphatic compounds is the main topic of this chapter. Indeed, numerous aromatic fluorinated products are available commercially. Moreover, in contrast to aliphatic molecules, their synthesis has not undergone significant evolution in the last few years. The synthesis of highly fluorinated compounds is also not considered here, since these compounds are much more involved in the formulation sciences than in medicinal chemistry. In this chapter, the synthesis of fluorinated compounds is dealt with in the following order monofluorinated, then difluoro-methylated, and finally trifluoromethylated molecules. 

---