CATALYTIC PHOTODEFLUORINATION OF PERFLUOROALKANES TO PERFLUOROALKENESWITH A FERROCENE PHOTOSENSITIZER

Perfluoroalkenes are obtained from perfluoroalkanes by photoinduced el ectron transfer from an organometallic photosensitizer, decamethylferr ocene, in the polar solvent thf. In the presence of Zn, the reaction b ecomes catalytic in ferrocene because the decamethylferricinium produc t of the photolysis is reduced to the starting decamethylferrocene. Te rtiary C-F bonds are the most reactive, and for example, perfluoro-1-m ethylcyclohexene is obtained from perfluoromethylcyclohexane with up t o 110 turnovers and up to 12% conversion.