Chemoselective Approach to Versatile Acyl Fluorides by Photoinduced Activation of p-Methoxybenzyl Esters

Abstract

A new strategy for the metal-free photoinduced activation of pmethoxybenzyl esters is developed using Selectfluor and benzil for the generation of acyl fluoride intermediates that enable various transformations. The highlight of this activation method is its high chemoselectivity in the presence of other functionalities, such as esters, amides, and ketones. A synthetic application for the preparation of peptide mimetics that possess two different amide units is also described.