Palladium-Catalyzed C–H Trifluoroethoxylation of N‑Sulfonylbenzamides

The trifluoroethyl aryl ethers are important motifs in drug molecules. However, a report devoted specifically to the study of transition-metal-catalyzed C–H trifluoroethoxylation has not been reported to date. A protocol of Pd­(II)-catalyzed o-C–H trifluoroethoxylation of a broad range of benzoic acid derivatives (i.e., N-sulfonylbenzamides) has been developed. This method is also applied to the formal synthesis of the drug molecule flecainide, wherein the first m-C–H trifluoroethoxylation is also exemplified.