Palladium-Catalyzed Regioselective Difluoroalkylation and Carbonylation of Alkynes

A novel, four-component synthetic strategy to synthesize a series of β-difluoroalkyl unsaturated esters/amides with high regioslectivity is described. This Pd-catalyzed difluoroalkylation and carbonylation reaction can be carried out with simple starting materials. Through this protocol, two new C-C bonds (including one C-CF2 bond) and one C-O(N) bond are constructed simultaneously in a single step. The synthetic utility of this reaction system has been certified by the applicability to a wide scope of alkynes and nucleophiles. Preliminary mechanistic studies suggest that the difluoroalkyl radical pathway is involved in this reaction.