Room-Temperature Catalytic Hydrodefluorination of C(sp3)−F Bonds

Room-temperature catalytic hydrodefluorination of the strong C(sp3)-F bonds in benzotrifluorides and fluoropentane is catalyzed by Et3SiB(C6F5)4 and uses Et3SiH as the source of H. Ar-CF3 compounds are converted to Ar-CH3 and fluropentane to pentane. The reaction is thought to proceed via abstraction of F- by Et3SiB(C6F5)4, and the substituent effects are consistent with this hypothesis.