Modular synthesis of α-fluorinated arylmethanes via desulfonylative cross-coupling

alpha-Fluoromethylarenes are common substructures in pharmaceuticals and agrochemicals, with the introduction of fluorine often resulting in improved biological activity and stability. Despite recent progress, synthetic routes to alpha-fluorinated diarylmethanes are still rare. Herein we describe the Pd-catalyzed Suzuki-Miyaura cross-coupling of alpha-fluorinated benzylic triflones with arylboronic acids affording structurally diverse alpha-fluorinated diarylmethanes. The ease of synthesis of fluorinated triflones as the key starting materials enables powerful late-stage transformations of known biologically active compounds into fluorinated analogs.