Enantioselective Fluorination of α‑Substituted β‑Diketones Using β,β-Diaryl Serines

We report the enantioselective fluorination of α-substituted β-diketones using β,β-diaryl serines as a primary amine organocatalyst. The reaction affords the corresponding fluorinated products in yields of 74 to 99% with excellent enantioselectivity (75–95% ee). Moreover, for synthetic applications, the diol, aldols, and the allylic fluoride were synthesized from 2a, maintaining excellent enantioselectivity (94% ee). The control experiment reveals that the CO2H group of the β,β-diaryl serines plays an important role in inducing the high enantioselectivity.