Selectfluor™ reagent F-TEDA-BF4 in action:: Tamed fluorine at your service

This paper concerns the discovery, properties and applications in organic synthesis of 1-chloromethyl-4-fluoro-1,4-diazoniabicyclo[2.2.2] octane bis(tetrafluoroborate) (so-called F-TEDA-BF4), one of the best general-purpose user-friendly site-selective electrophilic fluorinating agents to have emerged from a vigorous search worldwide since 1980 for more generally acceptable (non-gaseous,less aggressive, non-explosive, less toxic, relatively inexpensive) reagents than perchloryl fluoride, O-F compounds like trifluoromethyl hypofluorite or caesium fluoroxysulfate, xenon difluoride or fluorine itself. The information presented is based on literature available prior to January 1997. (C) 1998 Elsevier Science S.A.