Quinone-Mediated Trifluoromethylation of Arenes and Heteroarenes with Visible Light

The trifluoromethyl group can significantly influence the physical and chemical properties of organic molecules, thereby increasing their applications in the fields of pharmaceuticals, agro-chemicals, and organic materials. An efficient visible-light-promoted method for the direct trifluoromethylation of arenes and heteroarenes has been developed using inexpensive CF3SO2Na as the CF3 radical source and naturally ubiquitous quinones as oxidants. The regeneration of quinones was successfully realized by using a MnO2-fixed bed. This operationally simple methodology not only provides an access to a wide variety of CF3-containing building blocks from simple starting materials but also exhibits potential applications on a larger scale synthesis utilizing visible light energy.