From fluoral to heterocycles: a survey of polyfluorinated iminiums chemistry

Hemiaminals of fluorinated aldehydes are very useful reagents. They are able, under Lewis acid activation, to generate iminium species which can react with various nucleophiles and provide diverse fluorinated compounds. By this methodology, β-fluoroalkylated enones, which are very interesting building blocks, have been easily obtained. Fluorinated homoallylamines have been also synthesized and used as starting material to prepare α-fluoroalkylated nitrogen heterocycles. Many other synthetic applications of these fluorinated iminium ions provide new bioactive compounds.