Heptafluorobutyric acid


Heptafluorobutyric acid is an organofluorine compound with the formula C3F7CO2H. As the fluorinated derivative of butyric acid, this colourless liquid is prepared by electrofluorination of the corresponding butyryl fluoride.

Applications

HFBA has a variety of niche applications in analytical and synthetic chemistry. It is an ion pair reagent for reverse-phase HPLC. It is used in the sequencing, synthesis, and solubilizing of proteins and peptides.
Esters derived from HFBA readily undergo condensation, owing to their electrophilicity. Specialized ligands for metal ions are generated capitalizing on this property, such as Eufod.