BTF is an important commercial product used, inter alia, as a solvent, a lubricant, and a cleaning solution. It is made by reacting BTC with HF using a molybdenum pentachloride catalyst. See U. S. Patent No. 4,098,832, for a detailed description of that reaction. While molybdenum pentachloride is called a"catalyst,"it cannot be entirely recovered because it reacts to some extent with air and moisture to form oxyhalides; special precautions are therefore required to preserve it. Moreover, it is soluble in the product and is therefore difficult to separate from the product. It is also very expensive and at the present time there is only a single supplier.

According to one aspect of this invention there is provided a method of fluorinating a substrate having the general formula comprising reacting said substrate with a fluorinating agent in the presence of about 0.01 to about 2 wt% molybdenum trioxide at a temperature between about 40 and about 100°C, where each R is independently selected from halogen, alkyl from C, to C12, aryl from C6 to Cl2, alkoxide from C, to C, 2, aryloxide from C6 to C, 2, nitro, amino, alkylamino from C6 to C, 2, and anylamino from C, to C12, each X is independently selected from halogen and at least one X is chlorine or bromine, each m is independently selected from 0 to5, nisOor l, pisOor l, qisOor l, andn+P+qis 1.

Preferably said substrate is a benzotrichloride, such as benzotrichloride or monochlorobenzotrichloride.

The fluorinating agent may be hydrogen fluoride and the concentration of the fluorinating agent may be about 1 to about 1.7 equivalents.

The concentration of molybdenum trioxide is about 0.1 to about 0.8 wt%.

In one embodiment of the method the substrate is a liquid and no solvent is present. In an alternative embodiment of the method the substrate is a solid and is dissolved in a solvent.

Preferably said temperature is about 50 to about 80°C.

Advantageously said temperature in °C times said concentration in wt% is between about 5 and about 50.

According to another aspect of this invention there is provided a method of preparing benzotrifluoride from benzotrichloride comprising: (A) heating said benzotrichloride to a temperature between about 50 and about 80°C; (B) mixing with said benzotrichloride about 0.1 to about 0.8 wt% molybdenum trioxide; and (C) reacting said benzot-ichloride with about 1 about 1.3 equivalents of hydrogen fluoride.

According to a further aspect of this invention there is provided a composition comprising (A) a substrate having the general formula (B) where each R is independently selected from halogen, alkyl from Cl to C, 2, aryl from C6 to C, 2, alkoxide from C, to C, 2, aryloxide from C6 to C12, nitro, amino, alkylamino from C, to C, 2, and arylamino from C6 to C, 2, each X is independently selected from halogen and at least one X is chlorine or bromine, each m is independently selected from 0 to 5, n is 0 or 1, p is 0 or 1, q is 0 or 1 andn+p+qis 1; (C) a fluorinating agent; and (D) about 0.05 to about 2 wt% molybdenum trioxide.

Molybdenum trioxide is an effective catalyst for certain fluorination reactions, provided a sufficient concentration is present and the temperature is within a certain range. Unlike molybdenum pentachloride, molybdenum trioxide is a true catalyst and can be recovered and reused after the reaction. In fact, since it is insoluble, it is relatively easy to recover. It is stable in air and moisture, is far less expensive than molybdenum pentachloride, and is available from several suppliers. _ Substrates that can be fluorinated in the process of this invention have the general formula: where each R is independently selected from halogen, alkyl from C, to C, 2, alkoxide from C, to C, 2, aryloxide from C6 to C12, each X is independently selected from halogen and at least one X is chlorine or bromine, each m is independently selected from 0 to 5, n is 0 or 1, p is 0 or 1, q is 0 or 1 and n + p + q is 1. Examples of such substrates include BTC, parachlorobenzotrifluoride (PCBTC), dichlorobenzotrichloride (DCBTC), p-methylbenzotrichloride, p- nitrobenzotrichloride,p-aminobenzotrichloride,p-phenoxybenzo trichloride, 1- trichloromethyl naphthalene, and 3-trichloromethylalltlll-acene The preferred substrates are benzot-ichlorides (i. e. first formula) and BTF is the preferred benzotrifluoride as it is commercially important.

If the substrate is a liquid, a solvent is preferably not used because a solvent reduces throughput, but a solvent is preferably used to form a solution of a solid substrate. Examples of solvents that may be useful include BTF, PCBTF and dichlorobenzotrifluoride. Only enough solvent to solubilize the substrate and produce a solution having a workable viscosity should be used.

Examples of fluorinating agents that may be useful in this invention include HF, ammonium fluoride, NaHF2, KF trimethylamine HF, pyridine l0HF, (NH4) HF2, and sbF3. The preferred fluorinating agent is HF as it is less expensive and easier to use. About 1 to about 1.7 equivalents of a fluorinating agent are used for each chlorine or bromine that one wishes to replace with a fluorine, as less will leave un-reacted substrate and more is unnecessary; the preferred amount of fluorinating agent is about 1.1 to about 1.3 equivalents per chlorine or bromine.

Molybdenum trioxide is more effective at temperatures from about 40 to about 100°C and at concentrations from about 0.05 to about 2 wt%, but at the lower temperatures within that range higher concentrations of the catalyst are required. Thus, there is an inverse relationship between temperature and catalyst concentration. Generally, concentration (in wt%) times temperature (in °C) should be between about 5 to about 50.

The following examples further illustrated this invention: Example 1 Into a 500 mL polytetrafluoroethylene reactor equipped with a magnetic stirring bar, a condenser, a thermocouple, a sample port and an inlet for HF was placed 269.5 g (1.89 mol) of 99% BTC and 0.924 g (0.0064 mol) of MoO3 (0.25 wt% or 0.34 mol% based on BTC). The reactor was heated to about 70°C while maintaining the condenser temperature at-25°C using a chiller.

The reaction mixture turned blue. With constant stirring, HF gas was introduced to the reactor at an initial rate of 50 cc/min, which was slowly increased to 200 cc/min for the rest of the reaction. The reaction was continuously monitored using gas chromatography (GC). A total of 140.6 g (7.03 mol) of HF was added to the reactor in 13.1 hours. When the reaction was complete, both HF gas flow and heating were turned off. Nitrogen gas was purged through the reactor until all of the HF had been removed, then the reactor was opened to purify and isolate the product. A GC analysis of the final mixture shoed 95.6% (GC area) BTF.

Example 2 Example 1 was repeated except that the reactor was charged with 264 g (1.35 mol) of 99% BTC and 0.393 g (0.0027 mol) of MoO3 (0.15 wt% or 0.2 mol%, based on BTC). At the 67% level of BTF, it appeared that the reaction rate had slowed, so another 0.263 g (0.0018 mol) of MoO3 (0.10 wt% or 0.13 mol%, based on BTC) was added. A total of 127 g (6.35 mol) of HF was added to the reactor in 13.7 hours. An assay of the reaction mixture by GC showed 97.3% (GC area) BTF.

Example 3 Example 1 was repeated except that the reactor was charged with 357.8 g (1.556 mol) of 99.9% PCBTC and 0.90 g (0.0062 mol) of MoO3 (0.25 wt% or 0.4 mol%, based on PCBTC). A total of 109.8 g (5.49 mol) of HF was added to the reactor in 12.1 hours. A GC analysis of the final mixture showed 99.0% (GC area) PCBTF.

Example 4 Example 1 was repeated except that the reactor was charged with 300 g (1.31 mol) of 99.9% PCBTC and 0.75 g (0.0052 mol) of MoO3 (0.25 wt% or 0.4 mol%, based on PCBTC), and the reaction was carried out at 55°C. A total of 111 g (5.55 mol) of HF was added to the reactor in 14.5 hours. A GC analysis of the final mixture showed 99.0% (GC area) PCBTF.

Example 5 Example 1 was repeated except that the reactor was charged with 425 g (1.85 mol) of 99.9% PCBTC and 0.43 g (0.003 mol) of Mo03 (0. 1 wt% or 0.16 mol%, based on PCBTC), and the reaction was carried out at 55°C. After a total of 159.2 g (7.96 mol) of HF was added to the reactor in 31 hours, the reaction was stopped due to the decrease of the reaction temperature. A GC analysis of the final mixture showed 89.0% (GC area) PCBTF (the rest being underfluorinated products).

In the present specification"comprise"means"includes or consists of' and"comprising"means"including or consisting of'.

The features disclosed in the foregoing description, or the following claims, or the accompanying drawings, expressed in their specific forms or in terms of a means for performing the disclosed function, or a method or process for attaining the disclosed result, as appropriate, may, separately, or in any combination of such features, be utilise for realising the invention in diverse forms thereof.