Defluorination of polyfluorinated aliphatic substances (PFAS) is highly essential due to increasing concerns over PFAS-related environmental issues. In the present study, we demonstrate that commercially available Isoflurane (belongs to PFAS family) can be repurposed as a valuable fluorinated feedstock through selective C(sp3)–F bond functionalization. A simple, transition-metal-free protocol converts Isoflurane into a reactive fluoroalkene intermediate that undergoes nucleophilic addition with complex phenols. This strategy provides access to diverse, valuable CF2-based ethers bearing an additional chloro handle. The method also enables the preparation of deuterated analogues, expanding the toolkit of fluorinated and deuterated motifs for medicinal chemistry.
Kumawat et al. (Mon,) studied this question.