Base Metal Complex-Catalyzed Fluoroalkene Transformations: New Routes to Commercially Valuable Fluorocarbon Compounds

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Canada is a significant user of refrigerants for a number of applications within its built environment, including refrigeration for food, recreation (skating and curling rinks), and residential and commercial buildings. Fluoroalkenes have recently been identified as the newest generation of refrigerants, propellants and blowing agents due to their greatly reduced global warming potential vs. currently used hydrofluorocarbons. Typical routes to fluoroalkenes, however, are currently energy intensive and often employ toxic reagents such as heavy metals and hydrogen fluoride. In this project we will build on exciting new base-metal catalyzed routes to fluoroalkenes using a newly constructed integrated gas manifold for producing, purifying and isolating gases on the multigram scale. Using readily tunable nickel and copper complex catalysts, commercially available fluoroalkenes will be converted into a host of new fluorocarbon compounds that can serve as more economically and environmentally friendly alternatives to those currently in use. Our ability to prepare a variety of new fluoroalkenes not readily accessible by current routes will allow our industry partner, Arkema(in Canada since 1957) to test them as refrigerants, propellants and blowing agents, as well as new monomers for high-value fluoropolymers. In addition to advancing our fundamental knowledge of base metal organofluorine chemistry, identification of economical routes to new industrially important fluorocarbon products will also contribute to a reduction in global warming currently attributed to fluorocarbon emissions. Moreover, our co-workers will be trained in an exciting area of organofluorine chemistry that offers new applications in pharma and agrichemicals as well as advanced materials.