Industrial Synthesis of Perfluoroalkyl Vinyl Ether Monomers

1 Industrial Synthesis of Perfluoroalkyl Vinyl ether Monomers 

The classic process involves the chemistry of flnorocarbon epoxides. Its initial step is a catalytic oxidation of HEP into a flnoroepoxide. The fluoroepoxide is then reacted with a metal fluoride to obtain an acid flnoride, which is then pyrolyzed over calcium carbonate at 250°C (482°E) to obtain propylvinyl ether (PVE) [53,54]. 

The hypofluorite process, known since the 1970s, has been developed only recently for commercial application. The starting material is carbonyl fluoride, which is fluorinated in the presence of a catalyst to produce methyl hypofluorite  

Subsequent addition of methyl hypoflnorite to 1,2-dichlorofluoroethylene followed by dehalogenation yields methylvinyl ether (MVE), another fluoroalkoxy monomer [55]  

Another three-step process of preparing perflnoroalkylvinyl ethers is described in [56], and there also are electrochemical processes nsed for the prodnction of perflu-oro-2-alkoxy-propionyl flnoride [57]. 

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