[reaction: see text] In the presence of 5 mol % of niobium(V) chloride, alpha,alpha,alpha-trifluorotoluene derivatives were reduced with lithium aluminum hydride to give toluene derivatives in good yields. Stepwise, partial reduction of bis(trifluoromethyl)benzene derivative was also demonstrated.
It was found that zero-valent niobium is an efficient catalyst for the intramolecular C-C coupling reactions of o-aryl and o-alkenyl alpha,alpha,alpha-trifluorotoluene derivatives. The superstrong C-F bonds of CF3 groups and neighboring C(sp2)-H bonds were doubly activated, and fluorenes and indenes were obtained in good yields. The niobium fluorocarbenoid species is proposed to be the key intermediate.
CF3 group of o-alkenyl-α,α,α-trifluorotoluenes underwent intramolecular coupling reaction with the alkene C–H bond under NbCl5/LiAlH4 system. Substituted indenes were obtained in good yields.
ChemInform is a weekly Abstracting Service, delivering concise information at a glance that was extracted from about 200 leading journals. To access a ChemInform Abstract, please click on HTML or PDF.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.