The electrochemical fluorination of n-propyl-, diethyl- and triethylamine

Unravelling highly oxidized nickel centers in the anodic black film formed during the Simons process by in situ X-ray absorption near edge structure spectroscopy

The Simons process is an electrochemical fluorination method to prepare organofluorine compounds. Despite the wide application, the underlying mechanism is still unclear. We report the investigation of the black film formed on the surface of the anodes in aHF by an in situ Ni K-edge X-ray absorption near edge structure (XANES) investigation. An electrochemical cell for in situ X-ray absorption spectroscopy (XAS) is presented.

Combining Theory and Experiment to Characterize the Voltammetric Behavior of Nickel Anodes in the Simons Process

The Simons process, otherwise known as the electrochemical fluorination (ECF) method, is widely used in industry to electrolytically synthesize chemicals for various purposes. Even to this day, the exact mechanism of the ECF reaction remains unknown, but is believed to involve the formation of an anodic nickel fluoride film with highly oxidized nickel centers. In this study, experiments and density functional theory calculations are combined to characterize the initial anodic peak occurring at potentials typically required in an ECF cell. NiF2 is believed to form a passivating layer at low potentials. The calculations show that a potential of +3.1 V is required to oxidize surface Ni2+ centers to Ni3+ . This is in good agreement with the measured anodic peak at +3.57 V.

A theoretical study on the binding and electrolytic splitting of hydrogen fluoride on Ni(111) and Ni(211)

Anhydrous hydrogen fluoride (HF) is electrochemically activated on Ni electrodes in the Simons process. We study the electrode/electrolyte interface using DFT methods and find the splitting of HF to be exothermic even at low cell potentials.