Substituent exchange reactions of trimeric and tetrameric aryloxycyclophosphazenes with sodium 2,2,2-trifluoroethoxide

Substituent exchange reactions of sodium 2,2,2-trifluoroethoxide with trimeric and tetrameric aryloxycyclophosphazenes with phenoxy, 4-formylphenoxy, 4-cyanophenoxy and 4-nitrophenoxy side groups were conducted at 66°C in THF and monitored by ³¹P NMR and mass spectrometry. These are model reactions for their counterparts with high polymeric linear organophosphazenes. The ease of displacement of OAr in cyclic trimeric and tetrameric molecules by CF ₃CH ₂O increased significantly with the presence of electron-withdrawing substituents in the polyphosphazene in the order, phenoxy ≪ 4-formylphenoxy < 4-cyanophenoxy ≈ 4-nitrophenoxy. Fully substituted 2,2,2-trifluoroethoxyphosphazene trimer and tetramer were formed by side group exchange, but these reactions were followed by an attack by the nucleophile on the α-carbon of the 2,2,2-trifluoroethoxy groups linked to phosphorus to give a species in which one trifluoroethoxy group had been replaced by an ONa unit, and bis(trifluoroethyl) ether was formed as a side product. On the other hand, only partly exchanged species were formed when sodium phenoxide reacted with the trifluoroethoxy phosphazene trimer and tetramer, but again a product with an ONa side group was formed eventually together with phenyltrifluoroethyl ether generated via alpha-carbon attack. The relative sensitivity of 2,2,2-trifluoroethoxy and phenoxyphosphazene cyclic trimers and tetramers to the presence of trifluoroethoxide was established.