Preparation of hydrofluoroolefins by dehydrofluorination

1. A dehydrofluorination process for making hydrofluoroolefins of the structure R f CH═CHR f , wherein each R f is independently selected from the group consisting of —(CF 2 ) n CF 2 H, —(CF 2 H) n CF 3 , and —(CF 2 ) n CF(CF 3 ) 2 wherein n is an integer from 0 to 6, comprising reacting R f CH 2 CHFR f with a basic aqueous solution to produce a product mixture comprising R f CH═CHR f , wherein the dehydrofluorination product selectivity to R f CH═CHR f is at least 90 molar percent.

2. The dehydrofluorination process of claim 1 wherein the pH of said basic aqueous solution is greater than 10.

3. The dehydrofluorination process of claim 1 wherein the pH of said basic aqueous solution is greater than 12.

4. The dehydrofluorination process of claim 1 wherein said basic aqueous solution is made from an inorganic base.

5. The dehydrofluorination process of claim 4 wherein said inorganic base is selected from the group consisting of lithium hydroxide, sodium hydroxide, potassium hydroxide, calcium hydroxide, calcium oxide, sodium carbonate, potassium carbonate, sodium phosphate, potassium phosphate, ammonia and mixtures thereof.

6. The dehydrofluorination process of claim 1 wherein said basic aqueous solution is made from a quaternary ammonium hydroxide of the formula NR 4 OH wherein each R is independently a C 1 to C 16 alkyl group, aralkyl group, or substituted alkyl group.

7. The dehydrofluorination process of claim 1 wherein the reaction of said R f CH 2 CHFR f with said basic aqueous solution is conducted in the presence of a phase transfer catalyst.

8. The dehydrofluorination process of claim 7 wherein said phase transfer catalyst is selected from the group consisting of crown ethers, onium salts, cryptands, polyalkylene glycols, and mixtures and derivatives thereof.

9. The dehydrofluorination process of claim 8 wherein said phase transfer catalyst is a quaternary ammonium salt of formula

R 1 R 2 R 3 R 4 N (+) X (−)

wherein each of R 1 , R 2 , R 3 and R 4 , which may be the same or different, is an alkyl group, an aralkyl group, or a substituted alkyl group, and X is selected from the group consisting of F, Cl, Br, I, OH, CO 3 , HCO 3 , SO 4 , HSO 4 , H 2 PO 4 , HPO 4 and PO 4 .

10. The dehydrofluorination process of claim 9 wherein said phase transfer catalyst is methyltri-n-octylammonium chloride, tetra-n-butylammonium hydroxide, or their mixture.

11. The dehydrofluorination process of claim 1 wherein the reaction of said R f CH 2 CHFR f with said basic aqueous solution is conducted in the presence of an organic solvent.

12. The dehydrofluorination process of claim 11 wherein said organic solvent is selected from the group consisting of benzene and its derivatives, alcohols, alkyl and aryl halides, alkyl and aryl nitriles, alkyl, alkoxy and aryl ethers, amides, ketones, sulfoxides, phosphate esters and mixtures thereof.

13. The dehydrofluorination process of claim 12 wherein said organic solvent is tert-butanol, diglyme, or their mixture.

14. The dehydrofluorination process of claim 1 wherein said R f CH═CHR f is CF 3 CH═CHCF 2 CF 3 and said R f CH 2 CHFR f is CF 3 CH 2 CHFC 2 F 5 or CF 3 CHFCH 2 C 2 F 5 or a mixture of CF 3 CH 2 CHFC 2 F 5 and CF 3 CHFCH 2 C 2 F 5 .

15. The dehydrofluorination process of claim 1 wherein said R f CH═CHR f is CF 3 CH═CHCF 3 and said R f CH 2 CHFR f is CF 3 CH 2 CHFCF 3 .

16. The dehydrofluorination process of claim 1 wherein said R f CH═CHR f is CF 3 CF 2 CH═CHCF 2 CF 2 CF 3 and said R f CH 2 CHFR f is CF 3 CF 2 CH 2 CHFCF 2 C 2 F 5 or CF 3 CF 2 CHFCH 2 CF 2 C 2 F 5 or a mixture of CF 3 CF 2 CH 2 CHFCF 2 C 2 F 5 and CF 3 CF 2 CHFCH 2 CF 2 C 2 F 5 .

17. The dehydrofluorination process of claim 1 wherein the reaction is conducted at a temperature of from about −10° C. to about 100° C.

18. The dehydrofluorination process of claim 1 wherein the dehydrofluorination product selectivity to R f CH═CHR f is at least 95 molar percent.