ELECTROCHEMICAL FLUORINATION OF METHANE DISULFONYL HALIDES.

Perfluorinated alkane sulfonic acids have been receiving considerable attention in recent years, e. g. as potential fuel cell electrolytes. However, most of these compounds remain either inaccessible or prohibitively expensive. Electrochemical fluorination in anhydrous hydrogen fluoride is an attractive method for the synthesis of these compounds. In this study, the conversion of methane disulfonyl halides, principally the disulfonyl fluoride, by ECF to difluoromethane disulfonyl fluoride, a precursor of difluoromethane disulfonic acid, was carried out in a specially designed, microprocessor-aided reactor.