Process for the preparation of 2-perfluoropropoxy-perfluoropropionyl fluoride

Claim 1

Process for the preparation of 2-perfluoropropoxyperfluoropropionyl fluoride by dimerization of perfluoropropene epoxide in an aprotic polar solvent selected from the group consisting of ethers, nitriles and dimethylformamide, at temperatures comprised within the range of from -50° C. to +50° C., in the presence of a catalyst comprising an N,N,N',N'-tetrasubstituted diaminodifluoromethane and a co-catalyst comprised within the following formulae: ##STR6## wherein R 5 , R 6 , R 7 , R 8 , and R 9 , equal to or different from each other, are a hydrocarbon radical containing from 1 to 8 carbon atoms, which can either contain or not contain a substituent group inert towards the reactants under the reaction conditons; R 7 can be also H; R 7 and R 8 can furthermore be linked to each other to form a second ring of 5 or 6 carbon atoms and which can either aliphatic or aromatic; X 1 , X 2 , X 3 , X 4 , and X 5 , equal to or different from each other, can be H, halogen or a hydrocarbon radical of from 1 to 8 carbon atoms, which can either contain or not contain a substituent group inert towards the reactants under the reaction conditions, said co-catalyst being used in amounts comprised within the range of from 0.001 to 10 mol/perfluoropropene epoxide mol.