Abstract
Trifluoromethyl (CF3) groups are versatile structural motifs especially in the field of agrochemicals and pharmaceuticals. However, current trifluoromethylation reactions are generally associated with stoichiometric amounts of transition metals/metal oxidants, homogeneous catalysts, high temperatures, and expensive trifluoromethylating agents. In this work, the homogeneous photocatalyst Ru(bipy)(3)(2+) is entrapped in the pores of a faujasite support (EMC-1) via a "ship-in-a-bottle" strategy. The formation of the coordination compound was confirmed by Fourier transform infrared (FTIR), UV-Vis spectroscopy, and X-ray absorption spectroscopy (XAS). Due to its high stability toward acidified environments, this single-site heterogeneous catalyst is suitable for the trifluoromethylation of synthetically interesting (hetero)arenes under visible-light irradiation at room temperature. Furthermore, the heterogeneous catalyst could efficiently be reused for at least three times with minimal catalyst leaching/deactivation.