We are pleased to share that our latest research article, “Unlocking Lewis Acid–Free Metalation of O–Nucleophiles in HFIP”, has been published in Communications Chemistry.

In this work, we demonstrate that hexafluoroisopropanol (HFIP) enables the activation of allylsilanes without the need for Lewis or Brønsted acid catalysis. This reactivity allows efficient access to silyl ethers, siloxanes, and borasiloxanes under mild conditions and expands the synthetic potential of allylsilanes beyond their traditional role in C–C bond-forming reactions.

The study combines synthetic, mechanistic, and computational investigations to provide insight into the unique role of HFIP in promoting these transformations.

Citation:

Łyczek, K.; Markwitz, M.; Janicki, M.; Kuciński, K. Unlocking Lewis Acid–Free Metalation of O–Nucleophiles in HFIP. Communications Chemistry (2026).

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s42004-026-02079-3

We thank all co-authors and collaborators who contributed to this work.