Incorporation of the CF3 group into arenes has found increasing importance in drug discovery. Herein, we report the first photoredox‐catalyzed cross‐coupling of aryl thianthrenium salts with a copper‐based trifluoromethyl reagent, which enables a site‐selective late‐stage trifluoromethylation of arenes. The reaction proceeds with broad functional group tolerance, even for complex small molecules on gram scale. The method was further extended to produce pentafluoroethylated derivatives.

Recent advances in both experimental and computational techniques pose an exciting time for chemistry. Computational tools traditionally used to interpret experimental trends have now evolved into predictive models able to guide the design of novel catalysts. This review discusses the evolution of these models, as well as challenges and future avenues in the field of organocatalysis. Through representative examples we demonstrate how traditional physical organic chemistry tools in combination with machine learning models provide a powerful approach to achieve deeper understanding alongside greater predictive power. This article is categorized under: Structure and Mechanism > Reaction Mechanisms and Catalysis Electronic Structure Theory > Density Functional Theory Data Science > Artificial Intelligence/Machine Learning

The advent of total-body Positron EmissionTomography (PET) has vastly broadened the range of research and clinical applications of this powerful molecular imaging technology. 1 Such possibilities have accelerated progress in 18 F-radiochemistry with numerous methods available to 18 F-label (hetero)arenes and alkanes. 2 However, access to 18 F-difluoromethylated molecules in high molar activity (Am) is largely an unsolved problem, despite the indispensability of the difluoromethyl group for pharmaceutical drug discovery. 3 We report herein a general solution by introducing carbene chemistry to the field of nuclear imaging with a [ 18 F]difluorocarbene reagent capable of a myriad of 18 F-difluoromethylation processes. In contrast to the tens of known difluorocarbene reagents, this 18 F-reagent is carefully designed for facile accessibility, high molar activity and versatility. The issue of Am is solved using an assay examining the likelihood of isotopic dilution upon variation of the electronics of the difluorocarbene precursor. Versatility is demonstrated with multiple [ 18 F]difluorocarbene based reactions including O-H, S-H and N-H insertions, and cross-couplings that harness the reactivity of ubiquitous functional groups such as (thio)phenols, N-heteroarenes, and aryl boronic acids that are easy to install. Impact is illustrated with the labelling of highly complex and functionalised biologically relevant molecules and radiotracers.

Incorporation of the CF3 group into arenes has found increasing importance in drug discovery. Herein, we report the first photoredox‐catalyzed cross‐coupling of aryl thianthrenium salts with a copper‐based trifluoromethyl reagent, which enables a site‐selective late‐stage trifluoromethylation of arenes. The reaction proceeds with broad functional group tolerance, even for complex small molecules on gram scale. The method was further extended to produce pentafluoroethylated derivatives.