Photoinduced Selective Hydrodefluorination of Trifluoromethylarenes Enabled by Base-Activated Hantzsch Esters

The difluoromethyl group is a privileged motif in medicinal chemistry. However, selective monohydrodefluorination of readily available trifluoromethylarenes remains challenging due to stable C-F bonds and overdefluorination. Herein, we develop a photocatalyst-free approach using photoexcited Hantzsch ester anions as both a reductant and a HAT reagent, enabling efficient, chemoselective synthesis of diverse difluoromethylarenes.