Copper-Mediated Fluorination of Aryl Iodides

The synthesis of aryl fluorides has been studied intensively
because
of the importance of aryl fluorides in pharmaceuticals, agrochemicals,
and materials. The stability, reactivity, and biological properties
of aryl fluorides can be distinct from those of the corresponding
arenes. Methods for the synthesis of aryl fluorides, however, are
limited. We report the conversion of a diverse set of aryl iodides
to the corresponding aryl fluorides. This reaction occurs with a cationic
copper reagent and silver fluoride. Preliminary results suggest this
reaction is enabled by a facile reductive elimination from a cationic
arylcopper­(III) fluoride.