Visible-Light-Induced Synergistic W/Cr Catalyzed gem-Difluoroallylation of Unactivated Alkanes

Currently, the scope of Nozaki−Hiyama−Kishi (NHK) reaction is limited to aldehydes and ketones to construct alcohol de-rivatives. Moreover, most NHK reactions focus on the use of pre-activated electrophilic partners and generally require hygroscopic and easily oxidized CrCl2, which typically necessitates the use of a glove box to prevent the formation of detrimental aqueous CrCl3. Herein, we have described a visible-light-induced synergistic W/Cr(III) catalyzed NHK-type gem-difluoroallylation reaction of unactivated cyclic and linear alkanes. The reaction merits feedstock materials, mild reaction conditions, and wide functionality tolerance. Mechanistic studies imply the favorable reduction of CrCl3 to CrCl2 by reduced decatungstate W10O325-, thus closing the catalytic cycle.