The effects of perfluorination of cyclic and acyclic
alkenes have been examined. Quantum mechanical
calculations and experimental data show that vicinally substituted
acyclic alkenes are strongly destabilized by
fluorination. Quite surprisingly, the destabilization is much
smaller for cyclic analogs. This difference has
dramatic
consequences for the relative stabilities of double bond isomers in
cyclic and acyclic systems, including keto−enol
systems. The reasons for the contrast are discussed in
detail.