Recent Progress in Catalytic Aromatic Trifluoromethylation

Trifluoromethylated aromatic compounds are the substances of considerable interest in various industrial fields. The high lipophilicity, strong electron-withdrawing ability, and charasteristic size of trifluoromethyl group are key influences in biologically active molecules. Due to these attractive properties, the benzotrifluoride structural motifs have been widely employed in the design of pharmaceuticals, agrochemicals, dyes, liquid crystals, and polymers. Therefore, the development of highly efficient methodologies for aromatic trifluoromethylation is of significant importance for wide fields of science and technology. Recently, a great deal of attention has been paid to transition metal-catalyzed protocols to introduce trifluoromethyl groups into aromatic rings selectively. This review outlines the successful examples on catalytic aromatic trifluoromethylation, such as electro-philic and radical trifluoromethylation of aromatic compounds, cross-coupling of aryl halides with CF3Cu reagents, cross-coupling of aromatic halides with nucleophilic trifluoromethylation agents catalyzed by copper and palladium complexes, and catalytic oxidative cross-coupling to give trifluoromethylated aromatics effectively.