Skeletal reactions of perfluoromethylethyl- and perfluorodiethylbenzocyclobutenes with 1,1- and 1,2-alkyl groups in SbF5

Taking perfluoro-1,1-dialkylbenzocyclobutenes as examples, it has been shown to be possible to enlarge the four-membered ring in polyfluorobenzocyclobutenes to five-membered in the presence of SbF₅, by cleavage of the four-membered ring followed by cyclization of the resulting polyfluorostyrene to the polyfluoroindane, which then undergoes further reactions. Perfluoro-1-methyl-1-ethylbenzocyclobutene isomerizes at 50°C in the presence of SbF₅ to perfluoro-,-o -trimethylstyrene, which is reversibly converted at 130°C into perfluoro-1,2-dimethylindane. Perfluoro-l,l-diethylbenzocyclobutene isomerizes at 130°C in the presence of SbF₅ to give perfluoro- -ethyl-,o -dimethylstyrene, which at 170°C gives perfluoro-2-methyl-3-ethylindene- and perfluoro-2-methyl-3-ethyl-4,5,6,7-tetrahydroindene. The last two compounds, together with perfluoro-o-dipropylbenzene, are obtained from per fluoro-1,2-diethylbenzocyclobutene-with SbF₅ at 170°C. From perfluoro-1-methyl-2-ethylbenzocyclobutene with SbF₅ at 95°C there is obtained perfluoro-1-ethylindane, while at 130°C, in addition to the latter compound, there are obtained perfluorinated 1,1-dimethylindane, 1,2-dimethylindane, ,,o-trimethylstyrene, 2,3-dimethylindene, and 2,3-dimethyl-4,5,6,7-tetrahydroindene.Translated from Izvestiya Akademii Nauk SSSR, Seriya Khimicheskaya, No. 5, pp. 1114–1120, May, 1990.