Investigation of a new catalyst for dimerization of hexafluoropropylene

The dimerization of hexafluoropropylene was investigated using the coordination complex (copper(Ⅰ) bromide/2,2′-bipyridyl) as a catalyst and acetonitrile as solvent. The influences of the catalyst concentration, reaction temperature and time were also examined. The experimental results demonstrate that, at room temperature the catalyst can effectively catalyze the dimerization of hexafluoropropylene and one of the dimers ((E)-1,1,1,2,3,4,5,5,5-nonafluoro-4-(trifluoromethyl)pent-2-ene) is selectively produced when the concentration of the catalyst is low. Compared the other conventional catalysts such as alkali metal fluoride and alkali metal cyanide, this catalyst has more advantages, such as high activity, high selectivity and environmental friendliness. Moreover, the reaction can be performed at room temperature, which saves energy and brings down production cost.