Facile synthesis of ß-trifluoromethyl thioethers via DBN-catalyzed hydrothiolation of a-trifluoromethyl styrenes with thiols.

A very simple and atom-economical method for the synthesis of vicinal trifluoromethyl thioethers via DBN-catalyzed hydrothiolation of α-trifluoromethyl styrenes with thiols was reported. The reaction proceeded smoothly under mild reaction conditions and provided the ß-CF3-thioethers in moderate to good yields in an anti-Markovnikov manner.

Two-step synthesis of vicinal trifluoromethyl primary amines from α-(trifluoromethyl)styrenes and phthalimide.

A novel two-step synthesis of ß-trifluoromethyl primary amines from readily available α-(trifluoromethyl)styrenes and phthalimide is developed. The first step involves a hydroamination between α-(trifluoromethyl)styrenes and phthalimide (PhthNH) with the assistance of a base. Next, the hydrazinolysis of the resulting N-(ß-trifluoromethyl-ß-arylethyl)phthalimides with hydrazine hydrate affords the desired N-(ß-trifluoromethyl-ß-arylethyl)amines.