CF3-Substituted semisquarate: a pluripotent building block for the divergent synthesis of trifluoromethylated functional molecules

The first synthesis of a CF3-substituted semisquarate was accomplished via nucleophilic trifluoromethylation using CF3SiMe3 and subsequent rhenium-catalyzed allylic alcohol rearrangement. The short-step skeletal-divergent synthesis of trifluoromethylated functional molecules was successfully achieved using the CF3-substituted semisquarate as the platform.