N-Difluoromethylthiophthalimide Reagents for Modular Synthesis of Diversified -Difluoromethylthiolated Ketones

The compounds featuring & alpha;-difluorothiomethylatedketone skeletonderivatives are of particular interest in pharmaceuticals and agrochemicals.Herein, we designed novel electrophilic N-difluoromethylthiophthalimidereagents that can be easily prepared with commercially available andeconomical chemicals. These reagents could smoothly react with variousnucleophiles, such as Grignard reagents, boronic acids, & beta;-ketoesters, and anilines, which affords structurally diverse & alpha;-difluoromethylthiolatedketones in good to excellent yields. The formal synthesis of activeantifungal compounds positively confirmed the practicability of thesereagents.