Nucleophilic deoxyfluorination of phenols via aryl fluorosulfonate intermediates

This report describes a method for the deoxyfluorination of phenols with sulfuryl fluoride (SO₂F₂) and tetramethylammonium fluoride (NMe₄F) via aryl fluorosulfonate (ArOFs) intermediates. We first demonstrate that the reaction of ArOFs with NMe₄F proceeds under mild conditions (often at room temperature) to afford a broad range of electronically diverse and functional group-rich aryl fluoride products. This transformation was then translated to a one-pot conversion of phenols to aryl fluorides using the combination of SO₂F₂ and NMe₄F. Ab initio calculations suggest that carbon-fluorine bond formation proceeds via a concerted transition state rather than a discrete Meisenheimer intermediate.