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The thermal transformations of tetrafluoroethylene under flow conditions at atmospheric pressure and 600–710°C in the presence of cyclopentadiene and hydrogen chloride as carbene acceptors lead to the formation of phenyltrifluoromethane in 3.6% yield in the former case and 1,1,1,2-tetrafluorochloroethane in 9.1% yield in the latter case in addition to other products. These results indicate the possibility of an olefin-carbene isomerization of tetrafluoroethylene to trifluoromethylfluorocarbene under these conditions. Hence, the formation of hexafluoropropylene in the thermolysis of tetrafluoroethylene may be the result of the recombination of difluorocarbene with trifluoromethylfluorocarbene.

The thermal transformations of tetrafluoroethylene under flow conditions at atmospheric pressure and 600–710°C in the presence of cyclopentadiene and hydrogen chloride as carbene acceptors lead to the formation of phenyltrifluoromethane in 3.6% yield in the former case and 1,1,1,2-tetrafluorochloroethane in 9.1% yield in the latter case in addition to other products. These results indicate the possibility of an olefin-carbene isomerization of tetrafluoroethylene to trifluoromethylfluorocarbene under these conditions. Hence, the formation of hexafluoropropylene in the thermolysis of tetrafluoroethylene may be the result of the recombination of difluorocarbene with trifluoromethylfluorocarbene.