The copper-catalyzed synthesis of ß-trifluoromethylated acrylonitriles and trifluoromethyl-substituted 2H-azirines.

The direct assembly of acrylonitriles and valuable 2H-azirines from readily available starting materials is described. This novel alkyne difunctionalization reaction proceeded under mild reaction conditions. Considering the versatile roles of 2H-azirines, this work paves the way for further modification into various heterocycles.