Lewis Acid Catalyzed Synthesis of α-Trifluoromethyl Esters and Lactones by Electrophilic Trifluoromethylation.

An electrophilic trifluoromethylation of ketene silyl acetals (KSAs) by hypervalent iodine reagents 1 and 2 has been developed. The reaction proceeds under very mild conditions in the presence of a catalytic amount of trimethylsilyl bis(trifluoromethanesulfonyl)imide (up to 2.5 mol %) as a Lewis acid providing a direct access to a variety of secondary, tertiary, and quaternary a-trifluoromethyl esters and lactones in high yield (up to 98%). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]