A Stereocontrolled Access to Vicinal Difluoroalkanes.

Abstract An expedient method for the preparation of diastereomerically and, by extension, even enantiomerically pure vicinal difluoroalkanes is described. The two fluorine atoms are introduced in two consecutive steps : ring opening of an oxirane by addition of hydrogen fluoride and subsequent treatment of the resulting fluorohydrine with diethylaminosulfur trifluoride.