Simple nucleophile/H2O promoted defluorinative ring-opening of gem-difluorocyclopropenes

A novel defluorinative ring-opening of gem-difluorocyclopropenes is presented, providing a concise and efficient method for accessing 2-fluoropropenals and 2-fluorobuta-1,3-dienes in moderate to good yields with excellent regio- and stereoselectivities. The reaction is performed under mild conditions with no need of using an excess amount of nucleophilic reagents. Water plays a crucial role in this transformation.