Palladium-catalyzed cross-coupling of benzylzinc reagents with 2-bromo-3,3,3-trifluoropropene

alpha-Trifluoromethyl alkenes can be used as peptide isosteres, moreover, the pre-installed vinyl group make it possible that transformation to diverse fluorine-containing unities. However, the cross-coupling of benzyl group with alpha-trifluoromethyl alkenes has yet to be developed. In this report, we describe a general method for the cross-coupling of benzylzinc reagents with 2-bromo-3,3,3-trifluoropropene (BTP) to afford diverse alpha-trifluoromethylalkene derivatives by using Pd(TFA)(2) as catalyst. This method takes advantage of cheap industrial available fluorine building blocks and easily prepared benzylzinc reagents to generate alpha-trifluoromethylalkene derivatives, which features with mild reaction conditions, wide substrate scope and feasibility of product transformations.