Palladium-Catalyzed Fluorinative Bifunctionalization of Aziridines and Azetidines with gem-Difluorocyclopropanes

An unprecedented Pd-catalyzed fluorinative bifunctionalization of aziridines and azetidines was successfully developed via regioselective C-C and C-F bond cleavage of gem-difluorocyclopropanes, leading to various beta,beta '-bisfluorinated amines and beta,gamma-bisfluorinated amines. This reaction was achieved by incorporating a 2-fluorinated allyl group and a fluorine atom scissored from gem-difluorocyclopropane in 100% atom economy for the first time. The mechanistic investigations indicated that the reaction underwent amine attacking 2-fluorinated allyl palladium complex to generate eta(2)-coordinated N-allyl aziridine followed by fluoride ligand transfer affording the final beta- and gamma-fluorinated amines.