Mechanochemical difluoromethylation of (thio)phenols and N-heterocycles

Abstract

Herein, we report a minimalistic protocol for the solvent-free, mechanochemical difluoromethylation of (thio)phenols and N-heteroarenes using non-ozone depleting chlorodifluoromethyl phenyl sulfone as a difluorocarbene source. This mechanochemical difluoromethylation features a short reaction time, excellent functional group tolerance, and compatibility with complex biologically active scaffolds.