Novel trifluorovinyl ethers (TFVEs, ROCFdCF 2 ), where R is an oligoether, were synthesized from the corresponding sodium alkoxide and hexafluoropropene oxide. The sodium alkoxide ring opened hexafluoropropene oxide at the more highly substituted carbon (C2) to give the 2-alkoxy-2,3,3,3tetrafluoropropionic acid ester incorporating 2 equiv of the alcohol, ROCF(CF 3 )CO 2 R. Hydrolysis of the ester and reaction of the resulting sodium 2-alkoxy-2,3,3,3-tetrafluoropropionate with chlorotrimethylsilane gave the trimethylsilyl 2-alkoxy-2,3,3,3-tetrafluoropropionate, ROCF(CF 3 )CO 2 -Si(CH 3 ) 3 . Gas phase vacuum thermolysis of the trimethylsilyl ester at 140-150 °C gave the corresponding TFVEs in 55-63% yields. Thus, 1-[2-(ethoxyethoxy)ethoxy]-1,2,2-trifluoroethene and 1-[2-(2-tert-butoxyethoxy)ethoxy]-1,2,2-trifluoroethene were synthesized from 2-(2-ethoxyethoxy)ethanol and 2-(2-tert-butoxyethoxy)ethanol, respectively. Interestingly, thermolysis of sodium or potassium 2-alkoxy-2,3,3,3-tetrafluoropropionates resulted in negligible to low yields of TFVEs. 1 For example, thermolysis of sodium 2-[2-(ethoxyethoxy)ethoxy]-2,3,3,3-tetrafluoropropionate gave a trifluoroacetate ester, 2-(2-ethoxyethoxy)ethyl trifluoroacetate. Variable temperature 19 F NMR spectroscopy of trimethylsilyl 2-[2-(ethoxyethoxy)ethoxy]-2,3,3,3-tetrafluoropropionate suggests that an equilibrium exists between two structural conformations of these trimethylsilyl esters: one in which there is an intramolecular "interaction" of silicon with fluorine and one in which there is no silicon-fluorine interaction. This interaction may affect the outcome of the trimethylsilyl ester thermolysis.