Selective reactions of bromine trifluoride in organic chemistry

Although known for more than a century, bromine trifluoride is not a common reagent in day to day research work in organic chemistry. Its tendency to react exothermically with solvents containing Lewis base elements such as water, acetone or ethers distanced it from the mind of many. Still, under the proper conditions, it can perform quite a few selective reactions which are difficult to achieve by other reagents. We discuss in this review reactions which have been published in the last 30 years. They consist of fluorinating heteroatoms, substituting carbon-halogen bonds with carbon-fluorine bonds, syntheses of anesthetics, construction of the trifluoromethyl (CF₃) and the difluoromethylene (CF₂) groups, aromatic brominations and more.