Photochemical synthesis of acyl fluorides using copper-catalyzed fluorocarbonylation of alkyl iodides

Acyl fluorides are important reagents in organic synthesis due to their unique balance between reactivity and stability. Here, we report a copper-catalyzed carbonylative coupling strategy to synthesize acyl fluorides under photoirradiation. Various alkyl halides were transformed in high yields into corresponding acyl fluorides by using a commercially available copper catalyst (CuBrSMe2) and a readily available fluoride salt (KF) at room temperature and mild CO pressure (6 atm) under blue light irradiation. A radical fluorocarbonylation mechanism is proposed based on experimental data.