Hexafluorobenzene

Hexafluorobenzene
IUPAC name Hexafluorobenzene
Other names Perfluorobenzene
Identifiers
CAS number	392-56-3 Y
PubChem	9805
ChemSpider	13836549 Y
ChEBI	CHEBI:38589 Y
Jmol-3D images	Image 1
SMILES Fc1c(F)c(F)c(F)c(F)c1F
InChI InChI=1S/C6F6/c7-1-2(8)4(10)6(12)5(11)3(1)9 Y Key: ZQBFAOFFOQMSGJ-UHFFFAOYSA-N Y InChI=1/C6F6/c7-1-2(8)4(10)6(12)5(11)3(1)9 Key: ZQBFAOFFOQMSGJ-UHFFFAOYAJ
Properties
Molecular formula	C6F6
Molar mass	186.05 g mol−1
Appearance	Colorless liquid
Density	1.6120 g/cm3
Melting point	5.2 °C, 278 K, 41 °F
Boiling point	80.1 °C, 353 K, 176 °F
Refractive index (nD)	1.377
Viscosity	cP (1.200 mPa•s) (20 °C)
Dipole moment	0.00 D (gas)
Hazards
EU classification	Highly Flammable (F)
R-phrases	R11
S-phrases	S33 S29 S9 S16
Flash point	10 °C[1]
Related compounds
Related compounds	Benzene, Teflon
Y (verify) (what is: Y/N?) Except where noted otherwise, data are given for materials in their standard state (at 25 °C, 100 kPa)
Infobox references

Hexafluorobenzene, HFB, C₆F₆, or perfluorobenzene is an organic, aromatic compound. In this derivative of benzene all hydrogen atoms have been replaced by fluorine atoms. The technical uses of the compound are limited, although it is recommended as a solvent in a number of Photochemical reactions. In the laboratory hexafluorobenzene is used for several purposes:

• standard in Fluor-19 NMR
• solvent and standard in Carbon-13 NMR
• solvent in Proton-NMR
• solvent when studying some parts in the IR-spectrum
• solvent in UV-spectra, as hexafluorobenzene itself hardly shows any absorbance in the UV region.

Contents 1 Geometry of the aromatic ring 2 Synthesis 3 Fluorine and the aromatic ring 4 Reactions 5 Literature 6 References

Geometry of the aromatic ring

Hexafluorobenzene in the perhalogenbenzenes stands somewhat aside. When counting for bond angles and distances it is possible to calculate the distance between two ortho fluorine atoms. Also the non bonding radius of the halogens is known. The following table presents the results:^[2]

Formula	Name	Calculated inter-halogen distance, aromatic ring assumed planar	Twice nonbonding radius	Consequent symmetry of the benzene
C6F6	perfluorobenzene	279	270	D6h
C6Cl6	perchlorobenzene	312	360	D3d
C6Br6	perbromobenzene	327	390	D3d
C6I6	periodobenzene	354	430	D3d

The conclusion of the table is HFB is the only perhalobenzene being planar, the others all are buckled more or less. As a consequence in C₆F₆ the overlap between the p-orbitals is optimal, while in the others it is less, also giving rise to a lower aromaticity in those compounds.

Synthesis

The direct synthesis of hexafluorobenzene from benzene and Fluorine is not possible. The synthetic route proceeds via the reaction of alkali-fluorides with halogenated benzene:^[3]

C₆Cl₆ + 6 KF → C₆F₆ + 6 KCl

Fluorine and the aromatic ring

A substantial part of the chemistry of HFB is related to the position of fluorine in the periodic table. On its position at the end of the first row, fluorine is a halogen. It also is the smallest one, so taking up an electron releases the largest amount of energy of all elements, it is the strongest oxidant, it has the highest electronegativity. The carbon fluorine bond therefore is highly polarized: the carbon atom has (partially) positive charge, fluorine negative. This reasoning holds very much for the electrons in the σ-bonds. Electrons in p-orbitals encounter a totally different situation. The p-orbital at fluorine parallel to the one on the adjacent carbon will face an optimal interaction. Thereby fluorine, unlike the higher halogens, has no extra nodal plane in its orbitals, so size and geometry fit perfectly and no anti-bonding interactions occur. The dipole resulting from the σ-electronegativity will force a partial replacement of electric charge from fluorine towards carbon and the aromatic ring: fluorine behaves as a σ-electronegative, but as a π-electropositive element. This view is supported by the reactions C₆F₆ exhibits.

Reactions

With regard to its reactions, HFB stands apart from other aromatic compounds. One of the main reactions of aromatics is electrophilic aromatic substitution which for C₆F₆ is impossible. During the reaction a particle initially bonded to the aromatic nucleus leaves the molecule as a positive charge ion. In benzene, this is a H⁺-ion. In hexafluorobenzene a positive charged fluorine atom should have to leave, which does not occur. The vast number of reactions of HFB proceed with fluoride—negative charged—as leaving group. As a consequence the entering group also should be an anion.

The reaction of pentafluorophenyl derivatives has been long puzzling for its mechanism. Independent of the substituent, they all exhibit an para directing effect. The new introduced group too has no effect on the directing behaviour. In all cases, a 1,4-disubstituted-2,3,5,6-tetrafluorobenzene derivative shows up. Finally, the clue is found not in the nature of the non-fluorine substituent, but in the fluorines themselves. The π-electropositive effect introduces electrons into the aromatic ring. The non-fluorine substituent is not capable of doing so. As charge accumulates at the ortho and para positions relative to the donating group, the ortho and para-positions relative to the non-fluorine substituent receive less charge, so are less negative or more positive. Furthermore the non-fluorine substituent in general is more bulky than fluorine, so its ortho-positions are sterically shielded, leaving the para-position as the sole reaction site for anionic entering groups.

Literature

• Walter J. Pummer, Leo A. Wall: „Reactions of Hexafluorobenzene“, Science, 1958, Vol. 127, Nr. 3299, pp. 643–644; doi:10.1126/science.127.3299.643.
• Harold Crosbie Fielding: „Preparation of hexafluorobenzene and fluorochlorobenzenes“, US-Patent 3277192, 4. October 1966.
• M. D. Bertolucci, R. E. Marsh: „Lattice parameters of hexafluorobenzene and 1,3,5-trifluorobenzene at −17 °C“, J. Appl. Cryst., 1974, 7, pp. 87–88; doi:10.1107/S0021889874008764.

References