Trifluoroacetylation of amines with trifluoroacetic acid in the presence of trichloroacetonitrile and triphenylphosphine

We developed a mild and convenient trifluoroacetylation process for amines using a combination of trichloroacetonitrile and triphenylphosphine. The reaction that we designed is applicable to the trifluoroacetylation of a wide variety of amines, including amines with stereogenic centers, which underwent trifluoroacetylation without racemization.