Remote trifluoromethylthiolation of alcohols under visible light

An unprecedented remote and regioselective trifluoromethylthiolation reaction of alcohols was developed. Under mild conditions, a panel of free-alcohols was selectively functionalized with TolSO(2)SCF(3) reagent as the SCF 3 source in the presence of hypervalent iodide (PIDA) under blue light irradiation. This approach offered an operationally simple tool for the construction of a challenging C(sp(3))-SCF3 bond at the delta-position of an alcohol by C(sp(3))-H bond functionalization. Initial mechanistic studies suggested a radical pathway. (C) 2020 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.