Corey–Chaykovsky Reactions of Nitro Styrenes Enable cis-Configured Trifluoromethyl Cyclopropanes

Trifluoromethyl-substituted cyclopropanes are an attractive family of building blocks for the construction of pharmaceutical and agrochemical agents. This work demonstrated the utilization of fluorinated sulfur ylides as versatile reagents for Corey–Chaykovsky cyclopropanation reactions of nitro styrenes. This protocol favored the synthesis of cis-configured trifluoromethyl cyclopropanes for a broad range of substrates with excellent yields and good diastereoselectivities.