| abstract |
A process for the preparation of an alkane containing fluorine by contacting a halogenated alkane containing at least one hydrogen atom and at least one halogen atom selected from chlorine, bromine and iodine with a transition metal fluoride selected from osmium hexafluoride, iridium hexafluoride, rhenium hexafluoride, ruthenium pentafluoride, chromium pentafluoride, vanadium pentafluoride, rhenium heptafluoride and uranium hexafluoride, whereby to replace at least one hydrogen atom or at least one chlorine, bromine or iodine atom in said halogenated alkane starting material by a fluorine atom. Use of certain of the defined transition metal fluorides, e.g. OsF6, IrF6 and ReF6 allows the selective replacement of halogen by fluorine, whilst others, e.g. UF6, VF5 and ReF7 allows selective replacement of hydrogen by fluorine. |