Mechanochemical Difluoromethylations of Alcohols

Difluoromethyl ethers are formed through mechanochemical reactions of alcohols with difluorocarbene in a mixer mill.The protocol could be applied to primary, secondary, and tertiary alcohols, yielding the corresponding products in excellent yields (up to 99%) after 1 h reaction time at room temperature.The transformations proceeded under solvent-free reaction conditions, followed by product purification by filtration, which drastically reduced the amount of waste generated during the process.CsCl + TMSCF 2 Br Solvent-free reaction Pure product after filtration rt, 1 h 1°, 2°, and 3°alcohols Mild reaction conditions Operationally simple Difluorocarbene pathway