α,α-Difluoro-α-phenylsulfanyl-α-trimethylsilylmethane as a difluoromethyl building block: A general strategy to α,α-difluoromethyl aryl ketones

The synthetic utility of α,α-difluoro-α-phenylsulfanyl-α-trimethylsilylmethane (PhSCF2SiMe3; 1) as a difluoromethyl building block providing a general strategy to α,α-difluoromethyl aryl ketones was demonstrated. Oxidation, by using m-chloroperoxybenzoic acid, of the readily available 1-aryl-2,2-difluoro-2-phenylsulfanyl-1-trimethylsiloxyethanes obtained from fluoride-catalyzed nucleophilic addition of PhSCF2SiMe3 with aromatic aldehydes followed by flash vacuum pyrolytic elimination provided α,α-difluoromethyl aryl ketones in moderate overall yields.