Catalytic Difluorination of Olefins

Molecular editing with fluorine is a validated strategy for modulating the structure and function of organic systems. In the current arsenal of catalytic dihalogenation technologies, the direct generation of the vicinal difluoride moiety from simple olefins without a prefunctionalization step remains conspicuously absent. Herein we report a catalytic, vicinal difluorination of olefins displaying broad functional group tolerance, using inexpensive p-iodotoluene as the catalyst. Preliminary efforts toward the development of an enantioselective variant are also disclosed.