Transition-Metal-Free Synthesis of Fluorinated Nitriles and Diaryl Ketones Through a Selective C-F Bond Functionalization Under Mild Conditions

A highly efficient and simple procedure was developed to synthesize substituted fluorinated nitriles and diaryl ketones under mild conditions from polyfluorobenzenes and phenylacetonitriles. This coupling process was achieved by using a selective C-F bond functionalization without a transitionmetal catalyst. The reactions had good functional group tolerance and provided the products in moderate to excellent yields.