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All three C-F bonds in CF3-substituted arenes are activated by a niobium imido complex, driven by the formation of strong Nb-F bonds. The mechanism of this transformation was studied by NMR spectroscopy, which revealed the involvement of Nb(III). Attempts to extend this chemistry to nonaromatic CF3 groups led to intramolecular reactivity.
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Gianetti et al. (2013) studied this question.
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