Palladium‐Catalyzed Difluoroalkylation of Aryl Boronic Acids: A New Method for the Synthesis of Aryldifluoromethylated Phosphonates and Carboxylic Acid Derivatives

The palladium‐catalyzed difluoroalkylation of aryl boronic acids with bromodifluoromethylphosphonate, bromodifluoroacetate, and further derivatives has been developed. This method provides a facile and useful access to a series of functionalized difluoromethylated arenes (ArCF2PO(OEt)2, ArCF2CO2Et, and ArCF2CONR1R2) that have important applications in drug discovery and development. Preliminary mechanistic studies reveal that a single electron transfer (SET) pathway may be involved in the catalytic cycle.