Reaction of epoxides with hydrogen fluoride

FluorohydrinsThese have usually been obtained by reaction of epoxides with hydrogen fluoride at high temperatures. This reaction can be carried at 0° with SiF4 in combination with a base such as diisopropylethylamine or even Bu4NF. In all cases, the fluorine atom is introduced at the more substituted carbon. Highest... 

Rearrangement of fluorine with concomitant ring opening takes place in fluorinated epoxides Hexafluoroacetone can be prepared easily from perfluo-ropropylene oxide by isomerization with a fluorinated catalyst like alumina pre treated with hydrogen fluoride [26, 27, 28] In ring-opening reactions of epoxides, the distribution of products, ketone versus acyl fluoride, depends on the catalyst [29] (equation 7) When cesium, potassium, or silver fluoride are used as catalysts, dimenc products also are formed [29]... 

It was found that the ring opening of phenyl-substituted epoxides, as well as of aliphatic epoxides, can be achieved in high yield in a regio- and stereoselective manner with a mixture of 1 3 of diisopropylamine and hydrogen fluoride (diisopropylamine trishydrofluoride).9 1 m-2,3-Diphenyloxirane. for example, gives pure. >w-2-fluoro-l, 2-diphenylcthanol (1). indicating a nucleophilic reaction mechanism of the SN2 type. 

Table 17 indicates some limitations of the amine hydrofluorides in the reaction with glycidic esters. In the least-substituted case (entry 1) the yield is low. On the other hand, the fully substituted glycidic esters (entries 8 and 9) do not react at all with the amine hydrofluoride, probably due to steric hindrance. This type of epoxide gives better results with other fluorination reagents, e.g. they can be opened to the fluorohydrins in good yield with hydrogen fluoride in the presence of the boron trifluoride-diethyl ether complex (sec Section 1.1.4.3.2.1.2.).37... 

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