Using easily handled CsF as a fluorine source, an electrochemically
metal-free protocol for chemo- and regioselective synthesis of various
types of long-chain perfluoroalkyl aromatics with gem-difluoroalkene as a substrate and an alcohol or azole as an additional
nucleophile was developed. The eletrochemical transformation could
tolerate several functional groups, such as halogens, cyanos, benzyls,
and heterocycles, and is amenable to gram-scale. The application of
this electrochemical method in radiofluorination was also tested.