Tandem Radical Fluoroalkylation-Cyclization: Synthesis of Tetrafluoro Imidazopyridines

A copper-catalyzed fluoroalkyation-cyclization sequence of alkenes and, Apes enables the synthesis of fluorinated tetra- and dihydroimidazopyridines in moderate to excellent yields within 1 h at 70 degrees C. This reaction, which is carried out using copper(I) acetate as the catalyst, makes use of a new class of functionalized tetrafluoroethyl reagents based on a hypervalent iodine scaffold.