Turning a potent greenhouse gas into a valuable pharmaceutical building block using light

The trifluoromethyl group, or CF₃, is widely used in pharmaceuticals. When added to organic molecules, it can improve metabolic stability and membrane permeability, making it highly valuable in drug development. One useful way to introduce a CF₃ group is through the use of highly reactive CF₃ radicals. However, existing methods for generating these radicals often rely on expensive, corrosive or potentially explosive reagents and can produce unwanted waste.