The copper-catalyzed radical aminofluorination of styrenes with N-fluorobenzenesulfonimide (NFSI) is realized with high regioselectivity, thus affording aminofluorination products with regioselectivities opposite that of the palladium-catalyzed and noncatalyzed processes. Preliminary mechanistic studies suggested the reaction went through a radical pathway and was supported by DFT calculations. In these reactions, NFSI is utilized as both a radical nitrogen source and radical fluorine source, thus rendering it an attractive reagent.
Keywords: density functional calculations; fluorine; radicals; regioselectivity; synthetic methods.
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