Palladium-catalyzed chemoselective direct arylation of polyfluoroarenes with chloroaryl triflates at the C–Cl bond

Abstract

This study describes a palladium-catalyzed chemoselective direct arylation of polyfluoroarenes with chloro(hetero)aryl triflates, achieving site-selective functionalization at the C–Cl bond for the first time. The recently developed alkyl-pyrazole-based phosphine ligand (BirdPhos) proved essential for the success of this transformation, affording excellent yields with high chemoselectivity. Moreover, the catalytic system enables the efficient synthesis of a broad range of functionalized polyfluoroarene derivatives under mild, additive-free conditions. Notably, the reaction retains the triflate group in the products, providing a versatile functional handle for further derivatization and highlighting the broad applicability and synthetic utility of this method.