Synthesis and stability of mixed nonfluorinated 1,1,1-trihalo-alkanes

1,1,1-Trihaloalkanes of the types R-CCl2I, R-CClBrI, and R-CBr2I belonging to 1,1,1-trihalo-1-deoxy-d-arabinitol series of alditols were prepared and fully characterized by anomeric alkoxyl radical fragmentation of the corresponding 2,2-dihalo-2-deoxy-d-arabino-hexopyranose derivatives. The analogous diiodohalo compounds R-CClI2 and R-CBrI2 could not be prepared by this methodology. The results strongly suggest that the stability of the mixed trihalo alditols decreases with increasing bulkiness of the halogen atoms