Defluoroalkylation of Trifluoromethylarenes with Hydrazones: Rapid Access to Benzylic Difluoroarylethylamines.

Here, we report an efficient and modular approach toward the formation of difluorinated arylethylamines from simple aldehyde-derived -dialkylhydrazones and trifluoromethylarenes (CF-arenes). This method relies on selective C-F bond cleavage via reduction of the CF-arene. We show that a diverse set of CF-arenes and CF-heteroarenes react smoothly with a range of aryl and alkyl hydrazones. The β-difluorobenzylic hydrazine product can be selectively cleaved to form the corresponding benzylic difluoroarylethylamines.