Although alkyl trifluorovinyl ethers, ROCF= CF,, in which R is a hydrocarbon alkyl group can be prepared by the reaction of an alkali metal alkoxide with tetrafluoroethylene (TFE), this procedure generally fails when an alkali metal perfluoroalkoxide is used. An exception is the reaction of potassium perfluoroisopropoxide with fluorinated cyclobutene to give the vinyl ether. 2 In most cases the fluoroalkoxide anion prefers to lose fluoride ion rather than react ...
