Reactions of 2,2,2-trifluorodiazoethane with carbon-nitrogen and carbon-oxygen multiple bonds

2,2,2-Trifluorodiazoethane reacts with trifluoroacetonitrile in the dark at room temperature to give a 2-(2,2,2-trifluoroethyl)-4, 5-bis(trifluoromethyl)triazole, the 1,2,3-triazole structure being preferred to the 1,2,4-isomer on the basis of the ¹⁹F n.m.r. spectrum. The diazoethane reacts more slowly with trichloroacetonitrile, again forming the N-alkylated triazole even in the presence of an excess of the nitrile. No identifiable adduct resulted with acetonitrile. Hexafluoroisopropyl-ideneimine is first N-alkylated and then undergoes addition to form 1-(2,2,2-trifluoro-1-trifluoromethyl)ethyl-4,5-bis(trifluoromethyl)-?-1,2,3-triazoline, but N-methylhexafluoroisopropylideneimine failed to react. Trifluoroacetaldehyde and trichloroacetaldehyde give mixtures of the ketone (formed by insertion of the CF₃CH group into the aldehyde CH bond) and the $\text{cis}$- and $\text{trans}$-oxirans, apparently $\text{via}$ a β-hydroxydiazoalkane.