Trifluoromethyl Hypobromite, CF3OBr

The synthesis and isolation of the hypobromite CF3OBr is reported. CF3OBr is formed besides Me4N+BrF2 - by the reaction of CF3OCl and Me4N+Br3 - via an addition−elimination mechanism. The initially formed solid, [2CF3OBr·Me4N+BrF2 -], was characterized by 13C and 19F NMR, Raman, IR, and mass spectra. The hypobromite was separated from the solid by high-vacuum condensation onto a cold surface and characterized by matrix isolation multichannel Raman spectroscopy. An ab initio calculation was performed, and a force field and the torsional barrier of CF3OBr were calculated. The calculation predicts an eclipsed conformation with a rotional barrier of 3.4 kcal/mol. The photolytic decomposition of CF3OBr in the solid state and in an argon matrix was investigated.