Transition-Metal-Free Formation of C–E Bonds (E = C, N, O, S) and Formation of C–M Bonds (M = Mn, Mo) from N‑Heterocyclic Carbene Mediated Fluoroalkene C–F Bond Activation

Herein, a recently reported polyfluoroalkenyl imidazolium salt is shown to react with nitrogen-, oxygen- and sulfur-based nucleophiles at the Cβ position in a stereoselective and regioselective fashion, without the use of a transition metal. In contrast, reactivity with 1-methylimidazole demonstrates net substitution at Cα. This product reacts quantitatively with water, affording clean transformation of a difluoromethylene group to give an α,β-unsaturated trifluoromethyl ketone. Further reactivity studies demonstrate that the difluoromethyl fragment of an N-heterocyclic fluoroalkene is capable of direct C–C bond formation with NaCp through loss of sodium fluoride and double C–F bond activation (Cp = cyclopentadienide). TD-DFT calculations of this product indicate that both the HOMO and LUMO are of mixed π/π* character and are delocalized over the N-heterocyclic and Cp fragments, giving rise to a very intense absorption feature in the UV–vis spectrum. Additionally, two carbonylmetalate-substituted fluorovinyl imidazolium complexes featuring Mn and Mo were isolated and fully characterized.