Iodomethane as an organocatalyst for the aerobic ortho-selective trifluoromethylation of pyridines

Iodomethane is usually used as an electrophilic methylation reagent.Herein,we report its use as a C1 organocatalyst for the aerobic ortho-selective trifluoromethylation of pyridines in the absence of a transition metal.Trifluoroacetic acid(TFA)was employed as an inexpensive,readily available trifluoromethyl source.The reaction efficiently produced a variety of trifluoromethylation products,with good functional group compatibility.Pyridine-containing drug molecules could also be selectively trifluoromethylated for late-stage functionalizations.Mechanistic studies showed that iodomethane selectively reacted with the pyridine starting material,rather than the pyridine product,to generate the corresponding N-methylpyridinium iodide.The decarboxylation of trifluoroacetic acid produced a trifluoromethyl anion,which added to the methylpyridinium iodide,and the subsequent aerobic rearomatization led to the generation of the ortho-trifluoromethylated product.