Elemental fluorine in organic chemistry (1997–2006)

The use of elemental fluorine as a reagent over the period 1997–2006 for carbon–fluorine bond formation in organic synthesis is reviewed. Recent advances in the exhaustive fluorination of ethers and esters to give perfluorinated systems, selective direct fluorination of aliphatic, aromatic, heterocyclic and carbonyl systems and the application of microreactor techniques to direct fluorination are discussed.