Pd-Catalyzed Assembly of Fluoren-9-ones by Merging of C-H Activation and Difluorocarbene Transfer.

We disclose a novel Pd-catalyzed assembly of fluoren-9-ones by merging of C-H activation and difluorocarbene transfer. ClCF2COONa served as a difluorocarbene precursor to be harnessed as a carbonyl source in this transformation. The current protocol enables us to afford fluoren-9-ones in high yields with excellent functional group compatibility, which also represents the first example of using difluorocarbene as a coupling partner in transition-metal-catalyzed C-H activation.