Geminal Homologative Fluorination of Carbonyl Derivatives en route to 1-Fluoro-2-Haloethyl- Skeletons

Carbonyl groups of aldehydes and ketones are conveniently exploited for forging 1-fluoro-2-haloethyl chains through the sequential (nucleophilic) installation of halogenated C1-units and the fluoride anion. This formal gem-difunctionalization of carbonyls enables to prepare – under full chemocontrol - the title compounds by simply defining the C1-nucleophile, thus making suitable the access to all combinations of the four halogens. The modular strategy is flexible and suited for introducing also di- and trihalo-methyl units upon control of the nucleophiles’ generation events.