Carbofluorination via a palladium-catalyzed cascade reaction

This article demonstrates the first examples of tandem C-C and C-F bond formation for the palladium-catalyzed carbofluorination of allenes. The intramolecular Heck-fluorination cascade provides monofluoromethylated heteroarenes, an important class of products in medicinal chemistry. We also describe an intermolecular variant for the three-component coupling of allenes, aryl iodides, and AgF. Mechanistic studies indicate that C-F bond formation occurs by outer sphere attack of fluoride on an allylpalladium fluoride intermediate.