Ishikawa's reagent is a fluorinating reagent used in organic chemistry. It is used to convert

alcohols In chemistry, an alcohol is a type of organic compound that carries at least one hydroxyl () functional group bound to a saturated carbon atom. The term ''alcohol'' originally referred to the primary alcohol ethanol (ethyl alcohol), which is ...

into alkyl fluorides and

carboxylic acids 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 ...

into acyl fluorides.

Aldehydes In organic chemistry, an aldehyde () is an organic compound containing a functional group with the structure . The functional group itself (without the "R" side chain) can be referred to as an aldehyde but can also be classified as a formyl group ...

and

ketones In organic chemistry, a ketone is a functional group with the structure R–C(=O)–R', where R and R' can be a variety of carbon-containing substituents. Ketones contain a carbonyl group –C(=O)– (which contains a carbon-oxygen double bon ...

do not react with it. The reagent consists of a mixture of ''N'',''N''-diethyl-(1,1,2,3,3,3-hexafluoropropyl)amine and ''N'',''N''-diethyl-(''E'')-pentafluoropropenylamine in varying proportions. The active species is the hexafluoropropylamine; any

enamine An enamine is an unsaturated compound derived by the condensation of an aldehyde or ketone with a secondary amine. Enamines are versatile intermediates. : The word "enamine" is derived from the affix ''en''-, used as the suffix of alkene, and th ...

is converted into this by the

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 ...

byproduct as the reaction proceeds. Ishikawa's reagent is a popular alternative to the DAST reagent, since it is shelf-stable and easily prepared from inexpensive and innocuous reagents. It is an improvement on Yarovenko's reagent, the adduct of

chlorotrifluoroethylene Chlorotrifluoroethylene (CTFE) is a chlorofluorocarbon with chemical formula CFCl=CF2. It is commonly used as a refrigerant in cryogenic applications. CTFE has a carbon-carbon double bond and so can be polymerized to form polychlorotrifluoroethyl ...

and

diethylamine Diethylamine is an organic compound with the formula (CH3CH2)2NH. It is a secondary amine. It is a flammable, weakly alkaline liquid that is miscible with most solvents. It is a colorless liquid, but commercial samples often appear brown due to im ...

, which must be prepared in a sealed vessel and once prepared keeps only for a few days, even in the refrigerator. The reagent is mostly used to convert primary alcohols to alkyl fluorides under mild conditions with high yield. However, secondary and tertiary alcohols give a substantial amount of alkenes and ethers as side products.

Synthesis

The compound is prepared by adding

hexafluoropropene Hexafluoropropylene is the fluoroalkene with the formula CF3CF=CF2. It is the perfluorocarbon counterpart to the hydrocarbon propylene. It is mainly used to produce copolymers with tetrafluoroethylene. Hexafluoropropylene is used as a chemical i ...

to a solution of

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 ...

at 0 °C and distilling the product ''in vacuo''. The amount of enamine in the product depends on temperature control during the reaction – the higher the temperature the more enamine.

References

* {{cite journal , doi = 10.1246/bcsj.52.3377 , title = F-Propene-Dialkylamine Reaction Products as Fluorinating Agents , journal = Bulletin of the Chemical Society of Japan , volume = 52 , issue = 11 , pages = 3377 , year = 1979 , last1 = Takaoka , first1 = Akio , last2 = Iwakiri , first2 = Hiroshi , last3 = Ishikawa , first3 = Nobuo , doi-access = free Organofluorides Reagents for organic chemistry Fluorinating agents Alkene derivatives