Visible Light-Induced Organophotoredox-Catalyzed β-Hydroxytrifluoromethylation of Unactivated Alkenes

Abstract

Herein, we report a mild transition metal-free organophotoredox-catalyzed approach for β-hydroxytrifluoromethylation of unactivated alkenes using CF3SO2Na and acridinium salt. The protocol is compatible with various mono-, di-, and trisubstituted aliphatic unactivated alkenes containing numerous functional groups and natural product derivatives. Further, the postsynthetic modifications of the synthesized trifluoromethylated products have been demonstrated through cross-coupling and functional group interconversion reactions. The method proved to be scalable and it works smoothly under the direct exposure of sunlight. A plausible mechanism has been proposed based on the fluorescence quenching experiment and cyclic voltammetry analysis.