Vanadium-catalyzed solvent-free synthesis of quaternary α-trifluoromethyl nitriles by electrophilic trifluoromethylation.

The direct electrophilic trifluoromethylation of silyl ketene imines (SKIs) with hypervalent iodine reagents leads to the formation of quaternary α-trifluoromethyl nitriles in good yields. This new reaction has been carried out with a variety of substituted SKIs under solvent-free conditions using a vanadium(IV) catalyst (5 mol %). The corresponding products may be transformed into useful organofluorine building blocks.