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

加拿大在其建筑环境的许多应用中都大量使用制冷剂，包括食品、娱乐（滑冰和冰壶溜冰场）、住宅和商业建筑的制冷。与目前使用的氢氟烃相比，氟烯烃大大降低了全球变暖的潜能值，因此最近被确定为最新一代的制冷剂、推进剂和发泡剂。然而，生产氟烯烃的典型途径目前是能源密集型的，而且经常使用重金属和氟化氢等有毒试剂。在这个项目中，我们将建立令人兴奋的新的贱金属催化氟烯烃路线，使用新建的综合气体歧管在多组分规模上生产、净化和隔离气体。使用易于调整的镍和铜复合催化剂，可将市售氟烯烃转化为一系列新的氟碳化合物，这些化合物可作为目前使用的氟碳化合物的更经济和更环保的替代品。我们有能力制备各种新的氟烯烃，目前的路线不容易获得，这将允许我们的行业合作伙伴阿科玛

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.