CF(3)CH(2)OH. In the latter solvent, formation of ethers from open-chain alkenes is accompanied by Wagner-Meerwein hydride shift. In acetonitrile, the cation from cyclooctadiene partitions between deprotonation and Ritter addition, while the one from norbornadiene is reduced; both cations undergo nucleophilicaddition in trifluoroethanol. The relevance of these cationic reactions under unusually mild conditions