Perfluoro-4-methyl-1,3-dioxole: a new monomer for high-Tg amorphous fluoropolymers

A 4-Chloro-5-trifluoromethyl-2,2,4-trifluoro-1,3-dioxolane (1) was synthesised by reaction of CF₂(OF)₂ with CF₃CHCFCl; the elimination of HCl from (1) in basic conditions led to the formation of dioxole perfluoro-4-methyl-1,3-dioxole (2). Both these synthetic steps gave the corresponding product in high yield.A new synthetic route for the preparation of CF₃CHCFCl, starting from CF₂ClBr and CH₂CF₂, together with some examples of polymerisation products obtained by reaction of dioxole (2) with fluoroolefins are also reported.