Fluoroalkenes addition reactions

The mixtures bromine trifluoride/bromine and iodine pentafluoride/iodine can be successfully employed to prepare bromo- and iodo-substituted fluoroalkanes by addition to poly-fluoroalkenes. The reactions are carried out, in the presence of catalysts aluminum, aluminum/ aluminum triiodide9 or without a catalyst,10 in steel reactors at room temperature or with heating. In most cases the addition products are obtained in high yield (see Table 1). 

Table 7.7 Fluoride-ion-mduced addition reactions to fluoroalkenes...

Codimerisation occurs not only between different fluoroalkenes but also between fluoroalkenes and other unsaturated hydrocarbons. Moreover, some of these codimerisa-tions proceed more readily than the reactions involving only fluorinated alkenes. Examples of addition reactions of fluoroalkenes are shown in Table 7.13. Rate constants have been measured for [2tt + 2tt] and [2tt + 4tt] cycloadditions involving fluorinated alkenes, employing gas-phase NMR techniques [227]. 

Diazoalkanes were readily decomposed and underwent [2+l]-type cycloaddition to alkenes in the presence of catalytic amounts of rhodium complexes. Rh2(OAc)4 is the simplest complex for the reaction. For example, fluoro-cyclopropane 134 was prepared by the carbene addition to fluoroalkene 133 (Scheme 1.64) [108]. A copper catalyst also catalyzed the addition reaction. 

Difluoroethanol is prepared by the mercuric oxide cataly2ed hydrolysis of 2-bromo-l,l-difluoroethane with carboxyHc acid esters and alkaH metal hydroxides ia water (27). Its chemical reactions are similar to those of most alcohols. It can be oxidi2ed to difluoroacetic acid [381-73-7] (28) it forms alkoxides with alkaH and alkaline-earth metals (29) with alkoxides of other alcohols it forms mixed ethers such as 2,2-difluoroethyl methyl ether [461-57-4], bp 47°C, or 2,2-difluoroethyl ethyl ether [82907-09-3], bp 66°C (29). 2,2-Difluoroethyl difluoromethyl ether [32778-16-8], made from the alcohol and chlorodifluoromethane ia aqueous base, has been iavestigated as an inhalation anesthetic (30,31) as have several ethers made by addition of the alcohol to various fluoroalkenes (32,33). Methacrylate esters of the alcohol are useful as a sheathing material for polymers ia optical appHcations (34). The alcohol has also been reported to be useful as a working fluid ia heat pumps (35). The alcohol is available ia research quantities for ca 6/g (1992). 

Generally, additions of halogens to fluoroalkenes are less stereoselective than the analogous reactions with nonfluorinated systems. The stereochemical mode of addition can be either anti or syn Partitioning between these paths is determined... 

Conjugated, cross-conjugated, and homoconjugated fluoroalkenes react with halogens to yield predominantly 1,4-adducts Results from the reactions of a series of conjugated fluoroalkenes with elemental halogens are summarized in Table 4 In nearly all cases, the fraMs-l,4-addition products are formed exclusively [Il ... 

Nonfluonnated allenes also readily react with fluoroalkenes to give diverse fluonnated alkylidenecyclobutanes [727, 12S, 129, 130] (equations 55 and 56), except for tetramelhylallene, which rearranges to 2,4-dimethyl 1,3-pentadiene under the reaction conditions prior to cycloaddition (equation 57) Systematic studies of l,l-dichloro-2,2-difluoroethylene additions to alkyl-substituted allenes establish a two-step, diradical process for alkylidenecyclobutane formation [131, 132, 133]... 

Unsaturated fluorinated compounds are fundamentally different from those of hydrocarbon chemistry. Whereas conventional alkenes are electron rich at the double bond, fluoroal-kenes suffer from a deficiency of electrons due to the negative inductive effect. Therefore, fluoroalkenes react smoothly in a very typical way with oxygen, sulfur, nitrogen and carbon nucleophiles.31 Usually, the reaction path of the addition or addition-elimination reaction goes through an intermediate carbanion. The reaction conditions decide whether the product is saturated or unsaturated and if vinylic or allylic substitution is required. Highly branched fluoroalkenes, obtained from the fluoride-initiated ionic oligomerization of tetrafluoroethene or hexafluoropropene, are different and more complex in their reactions and reactivities. 

More often, however, fluorocarbanions are intermediates in reactions of fluoroalkenes,35 e.g. by addition of nucleophiles, especially fluoride. Deprotonation of hydrofluorocarbons also yields the anion. Whereas a-fluorination destabilizes the anion, /J-fluorination is essentially stabilizing. The latter effect may be assisted by so-called fluorine-nonbond resonance (negative anionic hyperconjugation) which has been discussed in diverse ways supported by some,3 but criticized by others.2 31... 

Fluorinated radicals play a significant role in synthetic organo-fluorine chemistry, for example, in electrophilic radical addition to alkenes, single-electron transfer reactions (SET), telomerization of fluoroalkenes with perfluoroalkyl iodides, polymerization to fluoropolymers and copolymers, and thermal, photochemical and radiation destruction of fluorocarbons. Furthermore, such free radicals are of interest for studying structures, reaction kinetics and ESR spectroscopic parameters.38... 

The direction of iodine monofluoride addition to hexafluoropropene and, 1,1-di-fluoroethene suggests an electrophilic reaction mechanism. However, chlorotrifluoroethene gives a mixture of isomers both with iodine monofluoridc and with bromine monofluoride .1 0 The reactions of fluoroalkenes with bromine monofluoride proceed too quickly and for this reason they are conducted in l,l,2-trichloro-l,2,2-trifluoroethane though this hampers the isolation of addition products. 

F-Teda BF4 is effective for the selective addition of fluorine to steroids in good yield, re-gioselectively and, in many cases, stereoselectively at the 6- and 16-positions, under very mild reaction conditions (Table 7).92 Further, 6 will also efficiently fluorinate silyl and alkyl enolates, enamides, carbanions, a-alkenes and actived aromatic compounds (Table 8). As an extension of this method F-Teda BF+ has been used for the electrophilic fluorination of (fluorovinyl)tin compounds affording terminal fluoroalkenes (see Table 9).88... 

A well-established feature of nucleophilic reactions of fluoroalkenes is that attack occurs exclusively at a difluoromethyl group.61 The order of increasing reactivity is F2C = CF2 < F,C = CFCFj < < F2C = C(CF, )2.61 The primary products of base-catalyzed additions of alcohols to fluoroethenes are saturated ethers 87 however, with higher concentrations of base, unsaturated ethers are formed. Tetrafiuoroethene with sodium methoxide yields a product of substitution, trifluoromethoxyethene (4), and the addition product 1,1,2,2-tetrafluoro-l-methoxyethane (5).62... 

The effect of monofluorination on alkene or aromatic reactivity toward electrophiles is more difficult to predict Although a-fluonne stabilizes a carbocation relative to hydrogen, its opposing inductive effect makes olefins and aromatics more electron deficient. Fluorine therefore is activating only for electrophilic reactions with very late transition states where its resonance stabilization is maximized The faster rate of addition of trifluoroacetic acid and sulfuric acid to 2-fluoropropene vs propene is an example [775,116], but cases of such enhanced fluoroalkene reactivity in solution are quite rare [127] By contrast, there are many examples where the ortho-para-dueeting fluorine substituent is also activating in electrophilic aromatic substitutions [128]... 

We have not given you much evidence to decide why it is that some thermal [2 + 2] cycloadditions occur but not others. What is special about fluoroalkenes, allenes, and ketenes in these reactions One possibility is that Mobius rather than the Hiickel transition states are involved, but the Mobius transition states are expected to suffer from steric hindrance (Section 21-10B). It is also possible that [2 + 2] cycloadditions, unlike the Diels-Alder additions, proceed by stepwise mechanisms. This possibility is strongly supported by the fact that these reactions generally are not stereospecific. Thus with tetrafluoroethene and trans,trans-2,5-bexadiene two products are formed, which differ in that the 1-propenyl group is trans to the methyl group in one adduct, 45, and cis in the other, 46 ... 

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