Rearrangements in cobaltic fluoride fluorinations of cycloalkanes with seven or more ring carbons

Cyclo-heptane, -octane, -decane, -dodecane and -octadecane have been fluorinated in the vapour phase with cobaltic fluoride. The perfluorocarbons obtained revealed varying degrees of skeletal rearrangements. Thus, cycloheptane gave perfluoro-cycloheptane and -methylcyclohexane; cyclooctane gave at least eight fluorocarbons including-bicyclo(3,3,0)octane and -cyclooctane; cyclodecane gave a complex mixture from which were isolated perfluoro cis- and trans-bicyclo(4,4,0)decanes but no perfluorocyclodecane; cyclododecane and cyclooctadecane gave complex fluorocarbon mixtures in which none of the fluorocarbons with the original cycloalkene skeleton could be detected.Tetradecafluorobicyclo(3,3,0)octane gave dodecafluorobicyclo (3,3,0)oct-1(5)-ene and decafluorobicyclo(3,3,0)octa-di-1(5), 2-ene when pyrolysed over iron gauze.The fluorination of cyclooctane also afforded 1$\text{H}$-pentadecafluorocyclooctane which was dehydrofluorinated to tetradecafluorocyclooctene. This was converted to a range of derivatives including dodecafluorosuberic acid, 1,2-dichlorotetradecafluorocyclooctane, 1-methoxy tridecafluorocyclooctene and tetradecafluorocyclooctanone.