Versatile application of trifluoromethyl triflate

Hydrolytically stable and easy to handle trifluoromethyl triflate was found to be a liquid reservoir of ‘masked’ difluorophosgene. Anhydrous F− sources cleave the S–O bond in trifluoromethyl triflate yielding quantitatively the trifluoromethanolate salts, being useful trifluoromethoxy group carriers. Reaction of trifluoromethanolates with in situ generated from o-trimethylsilylphenyl triflate benzyne leads to (trifluoromethoxy)benzene and fluorobenzene (ratio 85:15). Whereas an addition of trifluoromethanethiolate anion across a triple bond of benzyne leads to [(trifluoromethyl)sulfanyl]benzene solely.