Trifluoromethylation of Benzoic Acids: An Access to Aryl Trifluoromethyl Ketones

The trifluoromethylation of benzoic acids with TMSCF₃ was achieved through nucleophilic substitution with the use of anhydrides as an in situ activating reagent. Under the reaction conditions, a wide range of carboxylic acids including the bioactive ones worked well, thus providing a facile and efficient method for preparing aryl trifluoromethyl ketones from the readily available starting materials.