Rapid access to diverse, trifluoromethyl-substituted alkenes using complementary strategies

Two synergistic approaches to the facile assembly of complex -trifluoromethyl alkenes are described. Using -trifluoromethyl--silyl alcohols as masked trifluoromethyl alkenes, cross-coupling or related functionalization processes at distal electrophilic sites can be executed without inducing Peterson elimination. Subsequent Lewis acidic activation affords functionalized -trifluoromethyl alkenes. Likewise, the development of a novel -trifluoromethylvinyl trifluoroborate reagent complements this approach and allows a one-step cross-coupling of (hetero)aryl halides to access a broad array of complex -trifluoromethyl alkenes.