A General Red‐Light Photocatalytic Platform for the Synthesis of Perfluoroalkyl Tellanes

Abstract

Perfluoroalkyl tellanes (R F –Te–R) constitute a synthetically valuable yet underdeveloped class of organotellurium compounds, despite their potential in fluoroorganic chemistry and materials science. Herein, we disclose a general, efficient, and operationally simple photocatalytic strategy for their synthesis from readily available ditellanes and perfluoroalkyl iodides. The transformation is enabled by red‐light irradiation in the presence of zinc phthalocyanine as an inexpensive and readily accessible photocatalyst, allowing the generation of perfluoroalkyl radicals under exceptionally mild conditions. This protocol exhibits broad substrate scope, accommodating a wide range of diaryl, heteroaryl, and dialkyl ditellanes, including sterically congested and biologically relevant scaffolds, and consistently delivers the corresponding perfluoroalkyl tellanes in high yields. Mechanistic studies, including radical trapping experiments, Stern–Volmer analysis, and quantum yield determination ( Φ = 2.4), reveal a photoinitiated radical chain mechanism in which the inherent lability of the Te─Te bond plays a key role in facilitating efficient radical capture and propagation. By combining low‐energy photochemical activation with the unique reactivity of tellurium‐centered species, this work establishes a practical and scalable platform for C─Te bond formation and significantly expands the synthetic toolbox for accessing perfluoroalkyl tellanes.