A Mild Synthesis of Aryl Triflates Enabling the Late-Stage Modification of Drug Analogs and Complex Peptides.

We report the discovery of a straightforward protocol to convert phenols into the corresponding aryl triflates using 1-methyl-3-((trifluoromethyl)sulfonyl)-1,3-dihydro-2H-benzo[d]imidazol-2-one in the presence of a fluoride source. This novel reagent can be handled without any precautions to exclude air or moisture making this method highly convenient. The reactions generally show very clean conversions within only a few minutes at room temperature.