First synthesis of 4-chloro-2,2-difluoro[1,3]dioxole[4,5-c]pyridine

The 2,2-difluorobenzodioxole moiety has been introduced in medicinal chemistry research as a potential metabolically more stable derivative of the benzodioxole fragment. Herein we present, to the best of our knowledge, the first synthesis of 4-chloro-2,2-difluoro[1,3]dioxole[4,5-c]pyridine, a 5-aza-derivative of the 2,2-difluorobenzodioxole, from simple and cheap starting materials. The chlorine atom in position 4 could be useful for further functionalisation by cross coupling reactions.