Perfluoroalkyltrimethoxyborates were converted into the corresponding perfluoroalkyltrifluoroborates in high yield by the action of potassium bifluoride in acidic media, i.e. in hydrochloric acid (37%), glacial acetic acid, and trifluoroacetic acid as well as in acidic ionic liquids. These low-cost methods avoid the use of toxic and corrosive hydrofluoric acid or anhydrous HF (aHF). Potassium and sodium perfluoroalkyltrifluoroborates are highly valuable starting materials for the preparation of low viscosity ionic liquids and organic salts with [R_FBF₃]⁻ anions, in general, and for the synthesis of further perfluoroalkylborate anions, for example perfluoroalkylcyanofluoroborates [R_FBF_3-n(CN)_n]⁻ (n = 1–3). Furthermore, complex metal cations are accessible with the weakly coordinating [R_FBF₃]⁻ counterions, as exemplified by the synthesis of [Cu(bpy)₃][C₂F₅BF₃] (bpy = 2,2′-bipyridine).

在酸性介质中，即在盐酸（37％），冰醋酸和三氟乙酸中以及在酸性离子液体中，通过氟化氢钾的作用，全氟烷基三甲氧基硼酸酯可以高产率转化为相应的全氟烷基三氟硼酸酯。这些低成本的方法避免了使用有毒和腐蚀性的氢氟酸或无水HF（aHF）。通常，全氟烷基三氟硼酸钾和钠是非常有价值的原料，通常用于制备低粘度的离子液体和含有[R _F BF ₃ ] ^-阴离子的有机盐，以及用于合成其他全氟烷基硼酸根阴离子，例如全氟烷基氰基氟硼酸盐[R _F BF _{3 -n}（CN）_n] ^-（n = 1-3）。此外，可以通过弱配位的[RF _F BF ₃ ] ^-抗衡离子获得复杂的金属阳离子，例如合成[Cu（bpy）₃ ] [C ₂ F ₅ BF ₃ ]（bpy = 2,2'-bipyridine ）。