Convenient synthesis of pentafluoroethyl thioethers via catalytic Sandmeyer reaction with a stable fluoroalkylthiolation reagent

Aromatic and heteroaromatic diazonium salts were smoothly converted into the corresponding pentafluoroethyl thioethers by reaction with Me4NSC2F5 in the presence of catalytic amounts of elemental copper. This Sandmeyer-type reaction proceeds at room temperature under mild conditions and is applicable to a wide range of functionalised molecules. It enables the late-stage introduction of pentafluoroethylthio groups, a promising but largely unexplored substituent, into bioactive molecules.