A Spectroscopic and Mechanistic Study of the Enolization and Diol Formation of Hexafluoroacetylacetone in the Presence of Water and Alcohol

The reactions of hexafluoroacetylacetone (hfac) (6) with water, methanol, ethanol, and isopropyl alcohol were studied in detail using 1H‐, 13C‐, 17O‐, 19F‐NMR, und UV‐VIS spectroscopy. The reported spectra enable the identification of intermediate and product species, and allow a mechanistic analysis of the enolization and diol formation. The suggested mechanisms are discussed with reference to earlier data reported in the literature. An important feature of this study is the direct evidence presented for the formation of the adduct species hfac(OH)4 (10), hfac(OMe)2 (13a), and hfac(OEt)2 (13b).