Fluorine addition to polychlorinated and polybrominated ethenes and arenes using vanadium pentafluoride

Reaction of vanadium pentafluoride with trichloroethene, tetrabromoethene, hexachlorobenzene, and octachloronaphthalene at −20 to 50 °C gave products from fluorine addition, CFCl2CFClH, C2Br4F2, C6Cl6F6, and C10Cl8F8, respectively. The fluorine addition to pentachloropyridine and hexabromobenzene was accompanied by the partial replacement of halogen atoms by fluorine and led to products C5Cl4F5N and C6Br4F8, respectively.