One step process for manufacturing trifluoroiodomethane from trifluoroacetyl halide, hydrogen, and iodine

1. A process for producing trifluoroiodomethane (CF 3 I), the process comprising:

providing reactants comprising trifluoroacetyl halide, hydrogen, and iodine;

heating the reactants; and

reacting the heated reactants in the presence of a catalyst to produce trifluoroiodomethane, the catalyst comprising at least one transition metal selected from the group of nickel, cobalt, iron, rhodium, iridium, platinum, and palladium.

2. The process of claim 1 , wherein in the providing step, the trifluoroacetyl halide, the iodine, and the hydrogen each comprise less than about 500 ppm by weight of water.

3. The process of claim 1 , wherein in the providing step, a molar ratio of the hydrogen to the iodine is from about 0.1:1 to about 1:1.

4. The process of claim 1 , wherein in the providing step, a molar ratio of the hydrogen to the trifluoroacetyl halide is from about 0.01:1 to about 0.05:1.

5. The process of claim 1 , wherein the catalyst further comprises a support including at least one selected from the group of an aluminum oxide support, a carbon support, a silica gel support, and a silicon carbide support.

6. The process of claim 5 , wherein the transition metal is from about 0.01 wt. % to about 40 wt. % of the total weight of the transition metal and the support.

7. The process of claim 6 , wherein the transition metal includes palladium, the support includes aluminum oxide, and the palladium is about 0.5 wt. % of the total weight of the palladium and the aluminum oxide.

8. The process of claim 6 , wherein the transition metal includes nickel, the support includes aluminum oxide, and the nickel is about 21 wt. % of the total weight of the nickel and the aluminum oxide.

9. The process of claim 1 , wherein the vapor-phase reactants are heated to a temperature from about 200° C. to about 600° C.

10. The process of claim 1 , wherein the trifluoroacetyl halide comprises trifluoroacetyl chloride.

11. The process of claim 1 , wherein the process further comprises the additional steps of:

separating unreacted iodine from the trifluoroiodomethane; and

returning the unreacted iodine to the providing step.

12. The process of claim 1 , wherein the process is a continuous process.

13. The process of claim 1 , wherein the process is a batch process.

14. A process for producing trifluoroiodomethane (CF 3 I), the process comprising the following steps:

reacting a trifluoroacetyl halide, hydrogen, and iodine in the vapor phase at a temperature from about 200° C. to about 600° C. in the presence of less than 500 ppm oxygen and a catalyst to produce a product stream comprising the trifluoroiodomethane, unreacted trifluoroacetyl halide, unreacted hydrogen, unreacted iodine, and hydrogen iodide;

removing at least some of the unreacted iodine from the product stream by cooling the product stream to condense iodine from the vapor phase; and

recycling the condensed iodine to the reacting step.

15. The process of claim 14 , wherein a molar ratio of the hydrogen to the iodine is from about 0:1 to about 5:1.

16. The process of claim 14 , wherein the transition metal includes at least one selected from the group of nickel, cobalt, iron, rhodium, iridium, platinum, and palladium.

17. The process of claim 16 , wherein the catalyst further comprises a support including at least one selected from the group of an aluminum oxide support and a carbon support, and the transition metal is from about 0.01 wt. % to about 40 wt. % of the total weight of the transition metal and the support.

18. The process of claim 14 , wherein the trifluoroacetyl halide comprises trifluoroacetyl chloride.

19. The process of claim 14 , wherein the process further comprises the additional steps of:

separating the unreacted trifluoroacetyl halide from the product stream; and

recycling the separated trifluoroacetyl halide to the reacting step.

20. The process of claim 1 , wherein the reacting step is carried out in less than 500 ppm oxygen.