The decomposition of chemically activated ethyl, propyl, and butyl fluorides

Abstract

Activated ethyl, n-propyl, isopropyl, s-butyl, and t-butyl fluorides have been formed by the insertion of singlet methylene into the carbon–hydrogen bonds of appropriate alkyl fluorides or by the combination of alkyl with fluoroalkyl radicals. The reactivities of the carbon–hydrogen bonds towards insertion have been compared with the reactivity of the bonds in neopentane.

The rates of elimination of hydrogen fluoride from the molecules originally formed have been found and compared with the rates of deactivation by collision. Evidence that the deactivation of ethyl fluoride occurs in steps of a few kcal. mole^–1 has been found. The size of the steps depends upon the colliding molecule and, for nitrogen, on the temperature.