Selective hydrodefluorination of hexafluoropropene to industrially relevant hydrofluoroolefins

Abstract

The selective hydrodefluorination of hexafluoropropene to HFO‐1234ze and HFO‐1234yf can be achieved by reaction with simple group 13 hydrides of the form EH3 ⋅ L (E=B, Al; L=SMe2, NMe3). The chemoselectivity varies depending on the nature of the group 13 element. A combination of experiments and DFT calculations show that competitive nucleophilic vinylic substitution and addition‐elimination mechanisms involving hydroborated intermediates lead to complementary selectivities.