Polar addition of perfluoro-tert-hexyl iodide to alkenes and alkynes

The effective charges on the atoms in molecules of perfluoroalkyl halides of general formula (CF₃)_nCF_3–nX (X=Cl, Br, I) have been calculated by the AM1 semiempirical method. In polar solvents perfluoro-tert-hexyl iodide is reduced under the action of alkenes and aromatic hydrocarbons to form 2-hydroperfluoro-2-methyl-pentane and perfluoro-2-methyl-2-pentene. In ethyl acetate the regio- and stereo-specific addition of perfluoro-tert-hexyl iodide to alkenes, butadiene, and alkynes takes place, which is associated with the realization of a polar ion-radical mechanism for the reaction.Translated from Izvestiya Akademii Nauk SSSR, Seriya Khimicheskaya, No. 9, pp. 2057–2061, September, 1989.