From Refrigerant to Reagent: Repurposing HFC-125 into Inorganic and Organic Fluorinating Agents
Hiroto Iwasaki1, Zhengyu Zhao2, Syunsuke Nanya2
1Department of Nanopharmaceutical Sciences, Nagoya Institute of Technology, Gokiso, Showa-ku, Nagoya 466-8555, Japan.
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We report a sustainable and atom-economical strategy to repurpose the refrigerant HFC-125 (CF3CF2H) into two valuable fluorinating agents: potassium fluoride (KF) and 1,1,2,2-tetrafluoro-N,N-dimethylethylamine (TFEDMA). Treatment of HFC-125 with KHMDS in toluene at low temperature induces deprotonation and β-fluoride elimination, quantitatively generating KF. The resulting crude KF, designated as KF125, efficiently promotes a range of nucleophilic fluorination reactions. Simultaneously, the cogenerated tetrafluoroethylene (TFE) is converted into TFEDMA, achieving complete utilization of HFC-125. This dual-reagent platform represents a practical and scalable approach to upcycling fluorinated industrial feedstocks for synthetic applications.
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