Enolate-Based Strategies to Construct gem-Difluoromethylene Compounds

Fluorine is a key element by virtue of the unique properties associated with the atom itself and its bond to carbon, its high electronegativity and relatively small size. Due to these attractive properties, organofluorine compounds find diverse applications in the medicinal, agricultural, and material sciences. In particular, difluoromethylene compounds have received a great deal of attention due to their biological activities. This article deals with the synthetic applications of difluoroenol ethers and their derivatives, which are useful building blocks for a wide variety of difluoromethylene compounds.