Fluorocarbenes

ChLorofluorocarbene generated by the thermal decomposition of dichlorofluoro-methylphenylmercury reacts with 2,3-dimethylindole to give 3-fluoro-2,4-di-methylquinoline, 3-chloro-2,4-dimethylqumoline and 3-(chlorofluoromethyl)-2,3-dimethylindole [f] (equation 1). Similar results are obtained when the chloro-fluorocarbene is generated from dichlorofluoromethane by base-catalyzed de-hydrohalogenation using a phase-transfer catalyst in an aqueous-organic solvent system [21 (equation 1). 

Another major route to fluorinated organomercury compounds is thermal or photochemical decarboxylation offluonne-conlaining mercury carboxylates [/-Si, 169, 170,171, 172], as shown for example in equation 125 [153, 169] Via similar methodology, C6HjHgCF3 (60-75%) [171], (CF3)2Hg (92%) [/i59T, (02NCFCl)2Hg (58%) [172], and [(CF3)3C]2Hg (80%) [157] were synthesized, and several of these mercurials have been used as fluorocarbene precursors [166],... 

Hexafluoropropylene oxide (HFPO), which decomposes reversibly to di-fluorocarbene and trifluoroacetyl fluonde with a half-life of about 6 h at 165 °C [30], is a versatile reagent. Its pyrolysis with olefins is normally carried out at 180-2(X) °C, and yields are usually good with either electron-nch or electron-poor olefins [31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37] (Table 2). The high reaction temperatures allow the eyclopropanation of very electron poor double bonds [58] (equation 10) but can result in rearranged products [39, 40, 41] (equations 11-13)... 

Modest yields of monofluorocyclopropanes are obtained by UV irradiation of diiodofluoromethane with olefins [62], but in general, there are no practical methods for preparing fluorocarbene [7] Monofluorocyclopropanes therefore are usually made by reduction of gem-bromofluoro- or gem-chlorofluorocyclopropanes [63]... 

Substituted fluorocarbenes have been generated by several methods, but organometallic transfer reagents again are most useful synthetieally [64, 65, 66, 67, 68] (equations 25-27) Diazirines cleanly produce carbenes thermally [69, 71] or... 

The generation and cycloaddition reactions of fluorocarbenes are covered m more detail on p 767 et seq... 

TBAF has also been used in the preparation of various fluorocarbenes. This involved the photolysis of phenyl- or phenoxyfluorodiazirine, which was in turn synthesized from the reaction between TBAF and phenyl or phenoxy halodiazirine, as shown in Scheme 5.1-6 [24, 25]. 

In the cyclobutylfluoro system, the excited diazirine, 21-F, is considerably less involved. A parallel analysis indicates that only about 12% of 22-F and 23-F arise from excited diazirine, while 88% of those products descend from carbene 17-F.28 The increased carbene involvement in the photolysis of 21-F presumably reflects the greater stability of fluorocarbene 17-F over its chloro analogue 17-C1 and, consequently, a more favorable partition (ki/k3) of excited diazirine 21-F to the carbene. 

All fluorocarbenes are ground state singlets. For laboratory use there are some precursors which thermally generate difluorocarbene.42 Its identification is usually made by a subsequent chemical insertion reaction. A few industrially important processes proceed via difluorocarbene. The thermal pyrolysis of chlorodifluoromethane (CHF2C1) for the production of tetrafluoroethene and hexafluoropropene gives the intermediate CF2 which dimerizes to the alkene. 

NCFCl)2Hg (58%) [172], and [(CF3)3C]2Hg (80%) [157] were synthesized, and several of these mercurials have been used as fluorocarbene precursors [766],... 

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