Generation and use of an equivalent of difluoroacetamide or difluoroacetate anions.

Ethers of trifluoroacetaldehyde hemiaminals can undergo dehydrofluorination under basic conditions to provide ethers of difluoroketene hemiaminals. The latter behave as equivalents of difluoroacetamide or difluoroacetate anions towards various electrophiles, yielding a range of difluoromethylcarbonyl products.