Metal trifluoroacetates decarboxylation

A specific case of the carbonium ion mechanism [Eq. (5)] with reasonable plausibility is decarboxylation of metal arenoates by classic electrophilic aromatic substitution [Eq. (12)]. This mechanism would be favored by electron-donating substituents and has been invoked to explain the relative ease of decarboxylation of p-methoxybenzoic acid in molten mercuric trifluoroacetate (77) as well as the very facile decarboxylation on reaction of polymethoxybenzoic acids with mercuric acetate (18) (see below). 

Attempted syntheses of trifluoromethyl derivatives of germanium, tin, and lead by thermal decarboxylation either resulted in decomposition of the trifluoroacetate without forming carbon dioxide (22,39,40) or gave carbon dioxide but no trifluoromethyl organometallic (22). In the latter case, the metal fluoride was detected. This suggests that the trifluoromethyl compound is thermally unstable and decomposes by fluoride abstraction. 

Decarboxylation of silver carboxylates is a well known thermal process and is involved in the Hunsdiecker76 or Kolbe77 reactions. The Hunsdiecker reaction is the thermal decarboxylation of silver salts of acids and is used for the formation of bromoalkanes and related compounds, while the Kolbe process involves electrolysis of carboxylates as a route to decarboxylated radicals that can dimerize. Silver carboxylates are also photochemically reactive and the irradiation has been described as a facile process for the formation of alkyl radicals, as illustrated in equation 678. Later experimentation has shown that the irradiation of silver trifluoroacetate can serve as a route to trifluoromethyl radicals. This development uses irradiation of silver trifluoroacetate in the presence of titanium dioxide as a photocatalyst. The reaction follows the usual path with the formation of metallic silver and the formation of radicals. However, in this instance the formation of metallic... 

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