Gold‐catalyzed Fluorination of Alkynyl Esters and Ketones: Efficient Access to Fluorinated 1,3‐Dicarbonyl Compounds

We developed an efficient synthesis of 2‐fluoro‐1,3‐dicarbonyl compounds using readily available alkynyl ketones or esters as starting material. The key step is the insertion of hydrogen fluoride (HF) to the gold carbene intermediate generated from cationic gold catalyzed addition of N ‐oxides to alkynyl ketones or esters. This method gives excellent chemical yields and regioselectivity with good functional group tolerance. magnified image