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Published on: October 10, 2013
Direct spectroscopic evidence of the cross-coupling reaction between CH(2)(a) and CF(3)(a) on Ag(111)
1Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Center for Materials Chemistry, The University of Texas at Austin, Austin, Texas 78712, USA.
Abstract:
The cross-coupling reaction between CH2 and CF3 on Ag(111) was studied with reflection absorption infrared spectroscopy (RAIRS) and temperature-programmed reaction spectroscopy (TPRS). Adsorbed CF3CH2(a) was, for the first time, spectroscopically identified as an intermediate in the reaction to form CF2CH2. It is formed by migratory methylene insertion into Ag-CF3. CF3CH2(a) undergoes beta-fluoride elimination to form CF2CH2. Our results provide direct new fundamental insight into Fischer-Tropsch synthesis.
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