The widespread use and accumulation of fluorinated chemicals represent a serious risk to ecosystem and human health. Vinyl fluoride (VF), for example, is a high production volume chemical and a probable (group 2A) carcinogen. Recent studies show that rhodium can effectively catalyze the defluorination of fluorinated benzene, suggesting it may similarly degrade VF. In this study, we investigated the kinetics and pathway of VF reduction by H2 over rhodium through a series of batch experiments. VF was reduced via a combination of hydrodefluorination and hydrogenation in both liquid- and gas-phase reactors. However, the pathway and product selectivity, as well as the rate of VF reduction, were drastically different in the presence vs. absence of water. In this paper, we propose a mechanism for the observed shifts in reaction pathway and kinetics, and present experimental evidence in support of this mechanism. The treatment implications of these findings will also be discussed.

Catalytic reduction of fluoroethene: Kinetics, pathway, and mechanism

248th National Meeting (2014)

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