Recent advance in the synthesis of (1,1-difluoroethyl)arenes

Abstract The introduction of fluorine atoms into an organic molecule has become an important research field since fluorinated compounds play crucial roles in life science and materials chemistry. Among various fluorinated moieties, the difluoroethyl group (CF 2 CH 3 ) mimics the steric and electronic features of a methoxy group, and this modification can often bring about many beneficial effects to the target molecules. This feature article summarizes the presently known methods for the synthesis of (1,1-difluoroethyl)arenes, including nucleophilic, electrophilic, and free radical fluorination or 1,1-difluoroethylation reactions.