Electrochemical fluorination (ECF), or electrofluorination, is a foundational

organofluorine chemistry Organofluorine chemistry describes the chemistry of the organofluorines, organic compounds that contain the carbon–fluorine bond. Organofluorine compounds find diverse applications ranging from Lipophobicity, oil and hydrophobe, water repellents ...

method for the preparation of

fluorocarbon Fluorocarbons are chemical compounds with carbon-fluorine bonds. Compounds that contain many C-F bonds often has distinctive properties, e.g., enhanced stability, volatility, and hydrophobicity. Fluorocarbons and their derivatives are commerci ...

-based

organofluorine compound Organofluorine chemistry describes the chemistry of the organofluorines, organic compounds that contain the carbon–fluorine bond. Organofluorine compounds find diverse applications ranging from oil and water repellents to pharmaceuticals, refri ...

s.G. Siegemund, W. Schwertfeger, A. Feiring, B. Smart, F. Behr, H. Vogel, B. McKusick "Fluorine Compounds, Organic" in "Ullmann’s Encyclopedia of Industrial Chemistry" 2005, Wiley-VCH, Weinheim. The general approach represents an application of

electrosynthesis Electrosynthesis in chemistry is the synthesis of chemical compounds in an electrochemical cell. Compared to ordinary redox reaction, electrosynthesis sometimes offers improved selectivity and yields. Electrosynthesis is actively studied as a scien ...

. The fluorinated

chemical compound A chemical compound is a chemical substance composed of many identical molecules (or molecular entities) containing atoms from more than one chemical element held together by chemical bonds. A molecule consisting of atoms of only one element ...

s produced by ECF are useful because of their distinctive

solvation Solvation (or dissolution) describes the interaction of a solvent with dissolved molecules. Both ionized and uncharged molecules interact strongly with a solvent, and the strength and nature of this interaction influence many properties of the ...

properties and the relative inertness of

carbon–fluorine bond The carbon–fluorine bond is a polar covalent bond between carbon and fluorine that is a component of all organofluorine compounds. It is one of the strongest single bonds in chemistry (after the B–F single bond, Si–F single bond, and H–F s ...

s. Two ECF synthesis routes are commercialized and commonly applied: the Simons process and the Phillips Petroleum process. It is also possible to electrofluorinate in various organic media.Fred G. Drakesmith "Electrofluorination of Organic Compounds" Topics in Current Chemistry,Vol. 193, Springer, Berlin-Heidelberg, 1997. Prior to the development of these methods,

fluorination In chemistry, halogenation is a chemical reaction that entails the introduction of one or more halogens into a compound. Halide-containing compounds are pervasive, making this type of transformation important, e.g. in the production of polymers, ...

with

fluorine Fluorine is a chemical element with the symbol F and atomic number 9. It is the lightest halogen and exists at standard conditions as a highly toxic, pale yellow diatomic gas. As the most electronegative reactive element, it is extremely reacti ...

, a dangerous

oxidizing agent An oxidizing agent (also known as an oxidant, oxidizer, electron recipient, or electron acceptor) is a substance in a redox chemical reaction that gains or "Electron acceptor, accepts"/"receives" an electron from a (called the , , or ). In ot ...

, was a dangerous and wasteful process. ECF can be cost-effective, but it may also result in low yields.

Simons process

The Simons process, named after Joseph H. Simons entails

electrolysis In chemistry and manufacturing, electrolysis is a technique that uses direct electric current (DC) to drive an otherwise non-spontaneous chemical reaction. Electrolysis is commercially important as a stage in the separation of elements from n ...

of a solution of an

organic compound In chemistry, organic compounds are generally any chemical compounds that contain carbon-hydrogen or carbon-carbon bonds. Due to carbon's ability to catenate (form chains with other carbon atoms), millions of organic compounds are known. The ...

in a solution of

hydrogen fluoride Hydrogen fluoride (fluorane) is an inorganic compound with the chemical formula . This colorless gas or liquid is the principal industrial source of fluorine, often as an aqueous solution called hydrofluoric acid. It is an important feedstock i ...

. An individual reaction can be described as: :R₃C–H + HF → R₃C–F + H₂ In the course of a typical synthesis, this reaction occurs once for each C–H bond in the precursor. The cell potential is maintained near 5–6 V. The

anode An anode is an electrode of a polarized electrical device through which conventional current enters the device. This contrasts with a cathode, an electrode of the device through which conventional current leaves the device. A common mnemonic is ...

nickel Nickel is a chemical element with symbol Ni and atomic number 28. It is a silvery-white lustrous metal with a slight golden tinge. Nickel is a hard and ductile transition metal. Pure nickel is chemically reactive but large pieces are slow to ...

-plated. Simons discovered the process in the 1930s at

Pennsylvania State College The Pennsylvania State University (Penn State or PSU) is a public state-related land-grant research university with campuses and facilities throughout Pennsylvania. Founded in 1855 as the Farmers' High School of Pennsylvania, Penn State became ...

(U.S.), under the sponsorship of the

3M Corporation 3M (originally the Minnesota Mining and Manufacturing Company) is an American multinational conglomerate operating in the fields of industry, worker safety, U.S. health care, and consumer goods. The company produces over 60,000 products unde ...

. The results were not published until after World War II because the work was classified due to its relevance to the manufacture of

uranium hexafluoride Uranium hexafluoride (), (sometimes called "hex") is an inorganic compound with the formula UF6. Uranium hexafluoride is a volatile white solid that reacts with water, releasing corrosive hydrofluoric acid. The compound reacts mildly with alumin ...

. In 1949 Simons and his coworkers published a long paper in the ''Journal of the Electrochemical Society''. The Simons process is used for the production of perfluorinated

amine In chemistry, amines (, ) are compounds and functional groups that contain a basic nitrogen atom with a lone pair. Amines are formally derivatives of ammonia (), wherein one or more hydrogen atoms have been replaced by a substituen ...

ether In organic chemistry, ethers are a class of compounds that contain an ether group—an oxygen atom connected to two alkyl or aryl groups. They have the general formula , where R and R′ represent the alkyl or aryl groups. Ethers can again be c ...

carboxylic acid In organic chemistry, a carboxylic acid is an organic acid that contains a carboxyl group () attached to an R-group. The general formula of a carboxylic acid is or , with R referring to the alkyl, alkenyl, aryl, or other group. Carboxylic ...

s, and

sulfonic acid In organic chemistry, sulfonic acid (or sulphonic acid) refers to a member of the class of organosulfur compounds with the general formula , where R is an organic alkyl or aryl group and the group a sulfonyl hydroxide. As a substituent, it is kn ...

s. For carboxylic and sulfonic acids, the products are the corresponding acyl fluorides and sulfonyl fluorides. The method has been adapted to laboratory-scale preparations. Two noteworthy considerations are (i) the hazards associated with hydrogen fluoride (the

solvent A solvent (s) (from the Latin '' solvō'', "loosen, untie, solve") is a substance that dissolves a solute, resulting in a solution. A solvent is usually a liquid but can also be a solid, a gas, or a supercritical fluid. Water is a solvent for ...

and fluorine source) and (ii) the requirement for

anhydrous A substance is anhydrous if it contains no water. Many processes in chemistry can be impeded by the presence of water; therefore, it is important that water-free reagents and techniques are used. In practice, however, it is very difficult to achie ...

conditions.

Phillips Petroleum process

This method is similar to the Simons Process but is typically applied to the preparation from volatile hydrocarbons and chlorohydrocarbons. In this process, electrofluorination is conducted at porous

graphite Graphite () is a crystalline form of the element carbon. It consists of stacked layers of graphene. Graphite occurs naturally and is the most stable form of carbon under standard conditions. Synthetic and natural graphite are consumed on large ...

anodes in molten

potassium fluoride Potassium fluoride is the chemical compound with the formula KF. After hydrogen fluoride, KF is the primary source of the fluoride ion for applications in manufacturing and in chemistry. It is an alkali halide and occurs naturally as the rare m ...

in hydrogen fluoride. The species KHF₂ is relatively low melting, a good electrolyte, and an effective source of fluorine. The technology is sometimes called “CAVE” for Carbon Anode Vapor Phase Electrochemical Fluorination and was widely used at manufacturing sites of the

. The organic compound is fed through a porous anode leading to exchange of fluorine for hydrogen but not chlorine.

Other methods

ECF has also been conducted in organic media, using for example organic salts of fluoride and

acetonitrile Acetonitrile, often abbreviated MeCN (methyl cyanide), is the chemical compound with the formula and structure . This colourless liquid is the simplest organic nitrile (hydrogen cyanide is a simpler nitrile, but the cyanide anion is not clas ...

as the solvent. A typical fluoride source is (C₂H₅)₃N:3HF. In some cases, acetonitrile is omitted, and the solvent and electrolyte are the triethylamine-HF mixture. Representative products of this method are

fluorobenzene Fluorobenzene is the chemical compound with the formula C6H5F, often abbreviated PhF. A colorless liquid, it is a precursor to many fluorophenyl compounds. Preparation PhF was first reported in 1886 by O. Wallach at the University of Bonn, who ...

(from benzene) and 1,2-difluoro

alkane In organic chemistry, an alkane, or paraffin (a historical trivial name that also has other meanings), is an acyclic saturated hydrocarbon. In other words, an alkane consists of hydrogen and carbon atoms arranged in a tree structure in which ...

s (from

alkene In organic chemistry, an alkene is a hydrocarbon containing a carbon–carbon double bond. Alkene is often used as synonym of olefin, that is, any hydrocarbon containing one or more double bonds.H. Stephen Stoker (2015): General, Organic, an ...

s).

References

{{Reflist Organofluorides Chemical synthesis Chemical processes Electrochemistry Electrolysis Hydrogen production ConocoPhillips