Cleavage of Carbon-Carbon Bonds through the Mild Release of Trifluoroacetate: Generation of α,α-Difluoroenolates for Aldol Reactions

The selective cleavage of carbon-carbon bonds is a significant challenge in synthetic chemistry, yet this strategy can be a powerful way to generate reactive intermediates. We have discovered that, through the facile release of trifluoroacetate which occurs by C-C bond scission, difluoroenolates can be generated under very mild reaction conditions. Unlike existing reactions, this method is not limited to a small group of fluorinated building blocks. We have applied this process to the aldol reaction to install difluoromethylene groups.