Single‐Crystal X‐Ray Structure of the Metastable Aryne Precursor Tetrafluorophenyllithium and of 1,2,3,4‐Tetrafluorobenzene

Do intramolecular LiF interactions affect the reactivity of aryne precursors? This was the key question for structural studies of lithiated and nonlithiated tetrafluorobenzene. No correlation between LiF distances and the ease of LiF elimination exists, and the lengths of the C_arylF bonds in the lithiated compound are less affected by LiF interactions than by the “anionic” character of the benzene ring.