Fluorination of trimethylamine over cobalt(III) fluoride : Novel cyclisation of trimethylamine to polyfluoro-1,3-dimethylimidazolidines (characterised by mass spectrometry and nmr spectroscopy); cation-radical

Trimethylamine has been fluorinated with cobalt(III) fluoride to give eleven novel highly fluorinated products including seven polyfluoro-1,3-dimethylimidazolidines. Mass spectrometry and NMR spectroscopy were used to assign product structures. On fluorination under comparable conditions 1,2-bisdimethylamino-ethane and bisdimethylaminomethane gave mixtures containing all the products characterised from the title fluorination. A cation-radical mechanism of fluorination is proposed.