Direct A-Trifluoromethylthiolation of Carboxylic Acids Enabled by Boron Catalysis

A boron-catalyzed direct a-trifluoromethylthiolation of carboxylic acids was developed. Catalytically generated boron enediolates reacts with electrophilic SCF3 reagent, N-SCF3-phthalimide, to provide a-SCF3 carboxylic acids without the need of substrate pre-activation. The method is applicable to direct modification of bioactive carboxylic acids. Data science analyses provided suitable models for substrate clas-sification as well as yield prediction.